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“We’re really good,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “When you have great players, our defense keeps holding up. To win on the road, you have to play good defense. It gives us a chance that sometime in the 48 minutes, we’re going hit a variety of shots. We impose our will at that point. Either the bench does it, the starters do it, or a combination. We’re 48 minutes of pretty good basketball.”

The Rockets’ defense has been slightly better on the road than at home, allowing 101.6 points per 100 possessions, one fewer than in home games. But the consistent effort the Rockets cited would be valuable home or away.

“It’s about guys’ mental approach,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “I think our toughest task is to be consistent defensively. Everybody’s trying to take our game to another level. That’s the best thing about it. That’s why we’re playing so well. Everybody loves to see each other do well.

“It’s all about being consistent. Once we do that, we’re fine. We just want to continue to play this way.”

D’Antoni, the wife of Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, was asked about being back in Los Angeles, where Mike D’Antoni had coached the Lakers for two seasons before stepping down after the 2013-14 season.

“Is it classless to say ‘happy days are here again?’” Laurel D’Antoni said.

After the most recent loss, the Rockets 118-95 romp on Sunday, Laurel D’Antoni left town much happier than in 2014, with a reminder of the farewell Mike D’Antoni was given when he left 3½ years earlier.

Mike D’Antoni jokingly clapped back at Draymond Green‘s criticism of the Houston Rockets’ porous defense Tuesday night, quipping that the Golden State Warriors don’t care about defending either following a thrilling 122-121 season-opening victory at Oracle Arena.

MDA on Draymond Green's comment: Somebody said we don't take it seriously on defense. Well obviously, they don't take it seriously either"

“Somebody said we don’t take it seriously on defense,” D’Antoni said. “Well, obviously (the Warriors) don’t take it seriously either. We scored pretty good. I think both teams take it seriously. We did play well, and it’s a big push for us. We want to be a good defensive team, but when you play against guys like that, you better be able to score the ball. We were able to do both.”

The Rockets offense remains vital against the Warriors. In the past two seasons, when the Warriors score 120 or more points, they are 30-0 against the rest of the NBA; 1-2 against the Rockets. But as much the Rockets rely on their high-scoring offense, they knew they had to improve on the other end, and cited the season-opener as a sign of progress.

“We talk about it all the time,” Rockets guard James Harden said. “That’s our identity. Obviously, we can score with the best of them. Defensively, if we want to get where we want to go, we have to get stops. We played against this past year’s No. 1 offense, it was a good test for us.

“We got a chance, man. We got a chance. We have to do it consistently, not just get up for the Warriors, but make sure we take care of business every single night. Defensively, if we lock in and pride ourselves on getting stops, offensively, we have more than enough weapons. That’s what we have to do.”

Kerr says Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra also deserves consideration for the honor.

Per the SF Chronicle:

“I think the fit with the roster and Mike’s philosophy has been perfect,” said Kerr, who was D’Antoni’s general manager in Phoenix. “What he’s so good at is really giving his players confidence and belief. They’re obviously having an amazing year. My guess is that he’ll get the trophy. He’s earned it.”

With the Rockets, he has found an ideal fit. A Houston team the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas gave an over-under of 41.5 wins sits third in the Western Conference at 51-22. Thrust into a playmaker role, James Harden has emerged as an MVP front-runner. Clint Capela is thriving as the starting center. Entering Tuesday’s game against Golden State, the Rockets’ 1,070 three-pointers are eight shy of breaking the NBA single-season record the Warriors set last season.

“There’s probably a couple other guys in the conversation” for Coach of the Year, said Kerr, who won the award last year. Miami’s Erik “Spoelstra has done an amazing job, (San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich) — you could just give it to Pop any year — but I think Mike has been brilliant, when you look at where the team is now compared to where they were projected.”

Hey, James, I think you should become a point guard. […] “I thought he was crazy,” says Harden, who earned his stardom at shooting guard.

You know, James, you could be the second player ever to lead the league in points and assists. […] “Once again, I thought he was crazy,” Harden says wryly.

“People always ask, ‘You traded for him; did you know he was this good?'” (GM Daryl) Morey says. “I’m like, ‘F–k no!’ I mean, we thought he was extremely good and better than other teams probably did.”

“You are who you are a lot of times,” McHale, who will analyze games for TNT this season, said during a Tuesday conference call with reporters. “Can you change and be a facilitator first? I don’t know. Kevin Garnett, a guy I go way, way back with — Kevin Garnett was always a pass-first player. He was a pass-first player his first day of practice when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“James is a scorer, and at the end of the day, you do fall back on what you are. James is a scorer at heart. Can you change that? … Can you be something that you’re really not for an entire 82-game season? He’s a great facilitator, great passer, and he has great vision — he really is a scorer as a basketball player.”

McHale said Harden dominated the ball when he coached the Rockets, moving traditional point guard Patrick Beverley to shooting guard at times. Beverley’s touch rate was 55.8 percent last season, compared to Harden’s 85.1. […] Those numbers are expected to increase under D’Antoni’s up-tempo offense, which calls for spacing for outside shooting, the ability to push the pace and high pick-and-rolls.

Harden skipped the Olympics this summer to get ready for the 2016-17 NBA campaign.

Per Yahoo:

“I have made the sacrifice that I want to do whatever it takes to win, so it’s one of the reasons why I didn’t go to the Olympics this summer,” Harden said. “It was one of the toughest decisions that I’ve ever made in my life. For my legacy here in Houston and in the NBA, I thought it was important.”

As franchise players go, he fits the most important criteria: He’s always available, always balling. Across the past two seasons, Harden has played 185 out of 186 regular-season and playoff games, including 38.1 minutes per game in 2015-16. […] “You can say [the perception] is frustrating, or you can look at it and say, ‘OK, what if I play 65 games and miss 17 games. Play 32 minutes a game. And look like the best player ever.’ I wish I could, but in this instance, I’m here to play and do what I do. We don’t have … listen, I can’t sit out games. My teammates, my coaches, this organization needs me on that floor.”

In the end, this is why the Harden-D’Antoni relationship has to be at the core of the Rockets’ season. For D’Antoni’s system to flourish, it needs Harden to be the engine. Looking back in Los Angeles and New York, D’Antoni has told The Vertical that he could’ve been more proactive in building stronger bonds with star players Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony. He promised himself – and Rockets management – that wouldn’t happen with Harden. […] “Our communication has been strong,” Harden said. “I want to learn. I want to figure it out. Me calling him, texting him, going into his office, that’s happened already several times. My pride is definitely to the side. If I’ve got a problem – if I’ve got a question – I’m going to talk to him about it.”

It made sense for the Rockets to hire Mike D’Antoni. His offense is faster than the speed of light and will unlock even more of James Harden’s ability with the ball. D’Antoni is already changing things up. During the Rockets’ Media Day, the Seven-Seconds-or-Less innovator said that Harden will play point guard this season. ESPN has more:

“He’s more or less responsible giving rhythm to the team, that’s what a point guard does,” D’Antoni said. “He’s going to be on the ball and he’s going to be distributing the ball and it will take some adjusting. He’s got a lot more responsibilities as a point guard. A playcaller, a good basketball mind, he’s already telling guys we can do this we can do that.”

Months ago, Harden said that he was excited by the opportunity to play for D’Antoni. When the media asked Harden about his new role as point guard, he joked, “No, I’m a basketball player.”

(GM Daryl) Morey pitched new coach Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system and how (Eric) Gordon and (Ryan) Anderson would fit with Harden in a point guard role. The Rockets showed videos of how Harden could take on a role similar to that of former Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in a revamped offense. […] Morey wanted to convince Gordon that while Harden is noted for his scoring, he’s also a fantastic passer. Harden finished sixth in the NBA with an average of 18 points a game created by assists, the highest among shooting guards. He also finished sixth in potential assists at 14.3.

The system appealed to Anderson, who said he didn’t get enough open looks in New Orleans, something that someone with his skill set would need to succeed in Houston. Also, when defenses attack Harden, his ability to make clear passes should help someone like Gordon, who can shoot from the outside and create opportunities off the dribble.

“I got a little bit of Nash in me,” Harden said later of the Rockets’ sales pitch. “He had his own pace to the game; that’s what I took out of that. You could never speed him up, you could never make him do anything he didn’t want to do, that’s what separated him from any other point guard at the time, which led to two MVPs.”

The relationship between Dwight Howard and his current employer, the Houston Rockets, appears to be irreparably damaged. But both sides continue to make diplomatic public statements. Rockets GM Daryl Morey

The relationship between Dwight Howard and his current employer, the Houston Rockets, appears to be irreparably damaged. But both sides continue to make diplomatic public statements.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey says that the organization would “welcome” back the disgruntled center, though new head coach Mike D’Antoni hinted that the big fella may not love Houston’s offensive schemes next season.

Howard, 30, is expected to opt-out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“I’m excited,” Harden said on Sirius XM on Wednesday. “I’m excited about the opportunity. I’ve been hearing great things about him, what he brings to our team. Obviously, our assistant coaches (Jeff Bzdelik and Roy Rogers) as well. A new beginning and I’m excited about the opportunity.

“I’m excited about what D’Antoni brings to our team. Bzdelik is a great defensive-minded coach coming from Memphis who is going to help our defensive schemes. Then the players we’re going to get, it’s set up as a great season for our team next year.”

Harden was ninth in the MVP voting this season after finishing as the runner-up in 2014-15. He was not on any of the All NBA teams, prompting (Jason) Terry to read Harden’s statistics and calling Harden’s exclusion “a travesty.” Harden averaged 29 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds last season. […] “That’s something I’ve been thinking about,” Harden said. “It wasn’t a good year. I guess the media was looking at it like the Rockets are coming off the Western Conference Finals and fighting for the eighth seed. We’re still in the playoffs. With all the things that happened this year, all the negativity, we still had an opportunity to make the playoffs. That’s extra motivation for me to come back and be a better basketball player overall. I’m not down on myself. I know what I bring to the table. That’s another reason why I’m more excited about what we have next year as far as coaching plans and players we have coming in. More motivation for me. I want to get back in the gym, better myself and everything will work itself out.”

The contract is reportedly a four-year pact, with the final season being a team option.

Per the Houston Chronicle:

D’Antoni, the 76ers’ associate head coach, was chosen for his fifth head coaching position after nearly four weeks of interviews, with most of the final meetings with top assistants.

The Rockets opted for D’Antoni, according to the person with knowledge of the team’s thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made, with a plan to have top defensive assistants on his staff and to improve defensively with roster changes while relying on D’Antoni’s expertise to maintain the offense.

D’Antoni, 65, was the architect of the trend-setting Suns’ offense from 2002 to 2008. He went 253-136 with the Suns, with his teams always in the top five in net rating. The Suns reached the Western Conference Finals in 2005 and 2006 before losing to the Spurs and Lakers. […] He has not replicated that success in his other coaching stops, going 202-290 with the Nuggets, Knicks and Lakers. His defenses, in the middle of the NBA pack with the Suns, were not better than 20th in defensive ratings in his full seasons with the Knicks and Lakers.

D’Antoni, who has coached the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, has reportedly secured a second interview with Rockets management.

Per the Houston Chronicle:

The Rockets view D’Antoni, the 76ers associate head coach, as one of the preeminent experts in the style of fast-paced, spread offense they prefer, but will consider the staff he will assemble as a major consideration. […] The Rockets will look to add a coach that would run their defense, a major consideration to eventually choose D’Antoni.

Grizzlies assistant Jeff Bzdelik is among the coaches the Rockets would consider for that, but they have not interviewed Bzdelik or yet received permission from the Grizzlies to meet with him, a person with knowledge of the process said. Bzdelik will be considered for the Grizzlies head coaching position, according to the individual familiar with the process. […] The Rockets had also looked at Pacers coach Nate McMillan for that role before he was named to succeed Frank Vogel in Indianapolis.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey spent time with D’Antoni at the 2015 Sloan Conference in Boston, getting to know him for the first time, though then not with any idea that he would have a job open. D’Antoni also fits Rockets owner Leslie Alexander’s long-preferred style of offense.

Houston owner Les Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey met with Bickerstaff on Monday, as well as Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell and Houston assistant Chris Finch, league sources said. […] Other NBA teams have started reaching out to Bickerstaff about lead assistant coaching positions, and that’s where he’s transitioned his focus, league sources said.

After taking over following Kevin McHale’s firing in November, Bickerstaff went 37-34 as interim head coach, earning the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Houston lost 4-1 to defending champion Golden State in the first round. Finch has been regarded within Rockets management as a future head-coaching candidate. He led the Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate in Rio Grande to a championship in 2009 before joining Houston’s staff in 2011.

Conversations with potential candidates are expected to include several prominent college coaches, sources said. […] Among the NBA candidates with whom the Rockets are working to set up interviews are former Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek and Charlotte Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, league sources said. There could be 10-15 – perhaps even more – candidates interviewed in the process, league sources said.

With Pau Gasol and the Chicago Bulls paying the Los Angeles Lakers a nationally-televised visit Thursday night, Kobe Bryant reflected on their championship-winning partnership. Gasol eventually left the Lakers through

Bryant claims that he knew a 2008 NBA Finals trip was in the cards on Pau’s first score for the Purple and Gold.

Per ESPN:

“I thought that it was really silly and I felt bad for him going through all that stuff,” Bryant said Tuesday before the Lakers faced the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center. “That’s why I defended him so much.

“I think the city of L.A. didn’t really appreciate what he did and what we had, and so as a consequence, everybody kind of fell in line with the [former Lakers coach] Mike D’Antoni rhetoric of small ball and all this other bulls—. For a guy that has two championships to be treated that way, you don’t do that, man.”

Bryant said his main memory of Gasol is a conversation the two had in February 2008, when Gasol first joined the Lakers after being acquired in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. […] “I immediately went to his room at the hotel — we were staying on the same floor — [and] I went to his room, we had about a 30-, 40-minute conversation,” Bryant said. “That’s the thing I remember the most because that was the beginning.”

New 76ers chairman Jerry Colangelo’s first move in Philly will reportedly be adding Mike D’Antoni as an associate head coach. D’Antoni and Colangelo have worked together most notably with the Suns and USA

D’Antoni and Colangelo have worked together most notably with the Suns and USA Basketball.

Curiously, the news comes the same day that the Sixers announced a multi-year extension for head coach Brett Brown that will keep him in Philly through the 2018-19 season.

More from Yahoo:

New Philadelphia 76ers chairman Jerry Colangelo is beginning to impose his influence on the franchise, engaging Mike D’Antoni in talks to join Brett Brown’s staff as associate head coach, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

D’Antoni, a four-time head coach in the NBA, has been discussing with Colangelo and Brown a role on the Sixers’ bench that could begin later this month, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

D’Antoni, 64, and Colangelo have a longstanding relationship that includes successful runs together with the Phoenix Suns and USA Basketball. D’Antoni has been the revolutionary offensive mind of the modern NBA era, clearing the path for faster, smaller offenses that thrive on the 3-point shot.

The 64-year-old D’Antoni has been out of the NBA since resigning from the Los Angeles Lakers last year.

The Nuggets went 30-52 this season.

Per Yahoo! Sports:

Denver general manager Tim Connelly conducted a sit-down with D’Antoni in California on Tuesday, league sources said. […] D’Antoni’s vaunted running game fits into Denver’s determination that it wants to play faster in the future. Melvin Hunt, the interim coach in the wake of Brian Shaw’s firing, remains a strong contender to retain the full-time job, league sources said.

Along with D’Antoni and Hunt, ex-Sacramento Kings coach Michael Malone has had conversations with Connelly and could soon emerge with a sit-down interview, league sources said.

D’Antoni, 64, spent less than a season as the interim head coach with the Nuggets in 1998-99 before re-emerging as the highly successful Phoenix Suns coach for five seasons beginning in 2003. D’Antoni largely revolutionized offensive basketball with his seven-seconds-or-less offense, leading the Suns to the Western Conference Finals twice and the playoffs two more years.

There weren’t any tears shed when Mike D’Antoni’s disastrous coaching stint in Los Angeles came to an end last season, but despite a rocky relationship with Kobe Bryant, D’Antoni developed an appreciation for the superstar guard.

D’Antoni went 67-87 in two seasons with the Lakers, and says that even though things didn’t work out, he’s glad to have gone through it.

“His ability to have a volume of work that he does. I didn’t have any doubt he would come back from the two injuries other than age. If it’s humanly possible, he’s going to do it,” D’Antoni said about Bryant. “He’ll keep it going as long as it’s humanly possible. He’ll try to be the best that has ever played the game. Being around him every day and watching him every day work that hard is incredible.”

“The tough part about coaching him is that he has that determination and near sightedness that he doesn’t see the fringes too much,” D’Antoni said. “He’s going to go over you, under you, but he gets right to where he wants to go. Sometimes that makes it tough to coach him.”

“You want to coach a certain way and have a certain style and you hope everybody would be on the same page,” D’Antoni said. “We weren’t always. It’s a tough situation to hit and miss. If you’re not on the same page from the top of management down to the water boy, then you’re going to have some problems. In a public place like, la, it wasn’t easy sledding. But I wouldn’t change the experience. It was great. I got to work with some of the greatest players in the game. Although it wasn’t pleasant all the time, I think I’m a richer person for having done it.”

Q: On whether Scott is bringing back principles from the Lakers’ past:

Bryant: “Well, yeah. It’s a philosophical thing. He agrees with me and this Laker organization that we’re here for one reason only, and that’s to hang championship banners. Not division banners. Not anything else – Western Conference (championship banners) – you don’t do that. You focus on winning championships, and I think that’s very important for our young guys to understand.”

Q: On the challenge of managing his minutes with Scott:

Bryant: “I don’t see it as much of a big deal. I’m kind of sensing today from how many times I’ve been asked that, it seems to be kind of a hot topic of conversation. I don’t really understand it too much. I think as you get older you have to learn to accept certain things you can and can’t do. I think there’s strength in that vulnerability. I don’t see it as much of an issue.”

“Dr. Buss was going to make Byron the coach when Phil didn’t know what he was going to do” in 2010, said Johnson. “Byron took the Cleveland job, and he took it too early. I called and said: ‘B., you took the job too early. Dr. Buss wanted you to be the coach.”

“The team is better than what we had last season, because we have more guys who can do more things than just shoot three-pointers,” said Johnson. “If I don’t see another three-pointer from a Laker team, I’ll be happy.”

While Johnson still holds the title of vice president, he is no longer a Lakers owner or on the team’s payroll. Instead, the Hall of Famer is part owner of the Dodgers. “The Lakers are still the No. 1 team in the city,” said Johnson. “The Dodgers second. It’s always going to be like that until somebody wins some championships.” […] “It messes up my whole year when the Lakers are not successful,” he said.

During his postseason interview, Dwight asked for assurance that I would be coming back to coach the team, but (Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak) quickly disabused him of that notion. He asked me to back him up on that and not send out a conflicting message. I agreed and told Mitch that I would reach out to Dwight and encourage him to sign with the Lakers. He never answered any of my messages.

And Kobe made a moving speech during the pitch, promising to teach Dwight the secret of winning championships that he’d learned from the best in the game.

If the meeting had ended there, it might have worked. But after the presentation, Dwight asked Kobe what he was planning to do after he recovered from his Achilles injury. Was this going to be his last year? “No,” replied Kobe. “I’m planning to be around for three or four more years.”

At that point, according to others in the room, Dwight’s eyes went blank and he drifted away. In his mind, the game was over. […] A few days later he announced that he was signing with the (Houston) Rockets.

During an interview with ESPN’s Andy Katz, Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said that Kobe Bryant won’t weigh in on the team’s search for a new head coach. Bryant has openly said that he would like a say in the decision, since he reportedly had no say when the team decided to hire Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni. Brown was fired five games into the 2012-13 season, while D’Antoni resigned as coach last month. Via ESPN LA:

“From time to time we ask his advice,” Kupchak told ESPN’s Andy Katz at the NBA draft combine Thursday in Chicago. “He really won’t weigh in on something like this. I’m not even sure that we’ll talk to him prior to interviews. But from time to time, he is in our facility, I’ll go downstairs and I’ll talk to him about a bunch of different things.”

During an appearance last week on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Bryant publicly pined for a seat at the table when it comes time to choose the replacement for Mike D’Antoni, who resigned last month.

“On the last two they didn’t,” Bryant said, referring to former coaches Mike Brown and D’Antoni, both of whom failed to endure the length of the initial contracts they signed with the Lakers before parting ways. “On the third one, I’m hoping they do.”

Though he’s enjoying his work as a hoops analyst, George Karl very much wants to get back into the coaching game. Karl says he’d love to talk to the Los Angeles Lakers about taking over for Mike D’Antoni. Per ESPN:

“Mitch Kupchak [Lakers general manager] and I were roommates in college and Mitch has been a very good friend of mine for years,” Karl said on “Off The Dribble” on SiriusXM. “Have I talked to Mitch in the last couple of weeks? No, I haven’t.”

The Lakers have yet to reach out to Karl, a source said.

Fired after guiding the Denver Nuggets to 57 wins in 2012-13 while being named coach of the year, Karl said he likely would have a conversation with Kupchak about the job. He also thinks he’s a candidate for other teams with openings. New York, Golden State, Detroit and Utah are looking for coaches.

“I would love the opportunity to probably talk to people, when they think I’m a person they should be talking to,” said the 62-year-old Karl, who also has coached Milwaukee, Golden State, Cleveland and Seattle in his career.

“Honestly I didn’t care,” Bryant said Thursday when asked by Kimmel if he was “happy” that D’Antoni accepted a buyout of close to $2 million for next season rather than come back to coach the team.

“Mike was dealt a really bad hand in dealing with all the injuries that he had here,” Bryant said. “This is a tough place, man. If you’re not winning, you’re not going to survive, man.”

Bryant added that Magic Johnson’s controversial tweet in which he celebrated D’Antoni’s departure reminded him of a scene out of “The Wizard of Oz.”

“The first thing I thought of was seeing the Munchkins on the Yellow Brick Road dancing and singing, ‘The Wicked Witch is dead,’ ” Bryant said. “When he tweeted that, that song just came to mind.”

Bryant hopes the Lakers will sing a different tune than they have in the past when it comes to consulting him about hiring their next coach.

“On the last two they didn’t,” Bryant said, referring to Mike Brown and D’Antoni, who both failed to endure the length of the initial contracts they signed with the Lakers before parting ways. “On the third one, I’m hoping they do.”

Taking over for a legend like Phil Jackson is never easy, of course. Bryant said he still speaks to Jackson “often” and expects the 11-time championship winning coach to transfer those results to his front-office role with the New York Knicks.

“I think he’ll do fantastic,” Bryant said. “Especially the more people say that he won’t be successful.”

“Jimmy (Buss) and Jeanie (Buss) both, they’re just really determined and excited about the possibilities of next season and rebuilding this and building on their father’s legacy and everything that he’s accomplished,” Bryant said. “And they’re taking the challenge extremely, extremely seriously. They’re both on the same page and they want nothing but excellence here, so I have no doubt that we’ll make it happen.”

“On 1st July, the process begins and until then there will be no contact with any team. There appear to be several interested parties. I will listen to them all and I will select the best option for my interests”, said Gasol.

“I am excited to be in a strong position, although once I sign for the team I pick, I will be in the hands of that team. That is what this business is like”, he added.

What is clear is what the Spaniard is asking of his next employer: “I will give priority to a team that can win games and, let’s hope, challenge for the title.”

The departure of coach Mike D’Antoni from the Los Angeles club could see Gasol remain where he is. “Mike leaving was not the be-all and end-all, but it is another factor. What is certain is that we are without a coach and I say ‘we’ because I’m still thinking of myself as a Lakers player,” he said.

Teammates such as Kobe Bryant, with whom Gasol gets on very well, have asked the Catalan to stay: “I spoke with Kobe before the end of the season and he told me he wanted me to stay. We have a great mutual respect and a great friendship.”

The Lakers are going to take their time before finding a replacement for Mike D’Antoni. There are many candidates for the high-profile gig, and according to the LA Times, University of North Carolina head coach Roy Williams is a person of interest:

Another name to add to the Lakers’ list of coaching candidates: North Carolina’s Roy Williams. They plan on talking to him…eventually.

The Lakers have lost talent, lost stability, lost what separates winning and losing franchises. Bryant won’t pick the next coach, the way he had no input into Mike Brown and little into D’Antoni. Bryant will wish for Tom Thibodeau to free himself from Chicago. He loves Jeff Van Gundy, and shares management’s affinity for Euro legend Ettore Messina, who spent a season on Mike Brown’s staff.

Bryant has long admired Byron Scott, but there’s a different ex-Lakers guard who could go much further to regenerate the franchise’s culture and hold the insight into getting the most out of Bryant’s final two seasons: Derek Fisher.

Once the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season ends, Fisher will have a willingness to listen to coaching, front office and broadcasting possibilities. As for the Lakers’ coaching job, it holds tremendous appeal to him, sources with knowledge of his thinking said on Wednesday night. For now, the Thunder’s 3-2 deficit to Memphis holds his full focus, but there’s no rush for the Lakers to hire a coach now.

The Los Angeles Lakers plan a drawn-out and exhaustive search to replace coach Mike D’Antoni, but sources close to the process insist that they hope to “make a splash” with their eventual hire.

To that end, sources say, Lakers officials intend to reach out to two of the biggest names in the college game — UConn’s Kevin Ollie and Kentucky’s John Calipari — to at least gauge their interest in the job.

The Lakers’ immediate aims, sources say, are to focus on the draft and free agency and “hold back (on the coaching front) until they get a better sense of the marketplace.”

Another factor in their thinking, sources say, is leaving the coaching position open in the short term in case a potential free-agent target — such as LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony — tells team officials in July that he would consider coming to the Lakers if the coach of his choosing is hired.

The team is not expected to pursue Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski this time, after unsuccessfully trying to lobby Krzyzewski to leave Durham in the past, but sources say that L.A. is “intrigued” by both Ollie and Calipari.

In terms of other potential candidates, Lakers officials have long held ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy in high regard and, according to sources, plan to again interview former Lakers and Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, who was considered for the job in the wake of Mike Brown’s dismissal, when the Lakers ultimately opted for D’Antoni over Phil Jackson and Dunleavy.

It’s believed that Byron Scott and Kurt Rambis, both former Lakers from the team’s 1980s glory days, will be considered as well. Scott has been working as a studio analyst on Lakers broadcasts since his 2013 dismissal by the Cleveland Cavaliers; Rambis has already had one stint as the Lakers’ head coach and is still under contract to the team for next season after serving as an assistant to D’Antoni last season.

ex-NBA coach Lionel Hollins has interest in the Lakers head coach opening, a source said. Hollins coached Memphis to West Finals last season

The Lakers’ coaching search will be “completely wide open,” but they are not expected to have a new coach in place by the May 20 draft lottery, according to a person familiar with their thinking.

”In order for Mike to have done his job, we felt that having the option year picked up would have changed the narrative,” agent Warren LeGarie said Wednesday. “They knew that Mike would have been the coach and there would have been a different reaction.”

“It was an impossible decision for Mike,” LeGarie said. “He loved the guys on the team, the young guys. He clearly felt he had impacted their development and they had a real good buy-in on this. But clearly there wasn’t enough there to get us past some of the issues.”

Mike D’Antoni will receive less than half of the $4 million salary he was due for next season. His brief, horrific tenure as head coach of the Lakers included one of the worst seasons in franchise history (a 27-55 stain in 2013-’14), and an overall record of 67-87 in Los Angeles.

According to the Lakers, the team’s now-former head coach has resigned:

Mike D’Antoni has resigned as Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Although no timetable has been established, the search for a replacement will begin immediately.

D’Antoni, who was hired by the Lakers to replace Mike Brown on November 12, 2012, had a 67-87 record in his two seasons with the team. He previously was head coach of the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, and has a career record of 455-426.

“Given the circumstances, I don’t know that anybody could have done a better job than Mike did the past two seasons,” said Kupchak. “On behalf of the Lakers, we thank Mike for the work ethic, professionalism and positive attitude that he brought to the team every day. We wish him the best of luck.”

As an undeniably dismal season winds down in Lakerland, there’s little doubt that head coach Mike D’Antoni’s job status is rocky at best. According to a report, L.A.’s front office is looking for a “peaceful, mutual” way to let D’Antoni go. Uh, sure? Per the NY Daily News:

It doesn’t appear as if D’Antoni will survive and make it to next season.

The ex-Knicks coach has turned into a polarizing figure during what has been the Lakers’ worst season since arriving in Los Angeles in 1960. So it would be extremely difficult for the Lakers to bring him back. They also are looking to change their style to one that better fits Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, whom they plan on re-signing this summer when he becomes free.

One league source said there is sentiment within the Lakers’ executive offices for a “peaceful, mutual parting’’ with D’Antoni, who has one season left on his contract at $4 million. There’s another season beyond that, but it is at the team’s option.

“They don’t want to fire Mike,’’ the source said.

The Lakers announced this past week that GM Mitch Kupchak had agreed to a multiyear extension. Although he’s supported D’Antoni during what has been a disastrous season, Kupchak is said to be on board with the idea that the Lakers can’t keep playing the same way under the coach, with no regard for defense and an offense that doesn’t properly utilize Gasol.

The Lakers are hoping for a best-case scenario: Another team asks to hire away D’Antoni. Then he could be freed up to leave and the Lakers wouldn’t get their hands dirty with their second firing of their coach in 17 months, following Mike Brown’s dismissal after a 1-4 start in November, 2012. They would then be able to make a popular move with their fans by hiring Byron Scott or current assistant coach Kurt Rambis, both of whom are part of the Lakers’ brand as ex-players from the Showtime days of the ’80s.

Kupchak: “We will not consult with him. No, we won’t consult with him.”

Q: Because when he was asked about Mike last week, the perception was that he didn’t go to bat for him publicly. That started the storyline of “Well, Mike’s not coming back because it doesn’t seem like Kobe wants him back.”

Kupchak: “We won’t consult with him. Our decisions going forward — we’re not going to do knee-jerk stuff. We’ll let the season end, and take some time. We’ve got a lot of injuries and surgeries to sort through. That’s a lot to accomplish. We have the draft coming up?”

Q: Do you have clarity on that (D’Antoni) decision yet?

Kupchak: “No. No. In fact, I told Jimmy (Buss) let’s get to the end season, take some time off…then review the season. Look at our roster. I mean we have a plan. We’ve aligned our contracts in such a way where we’re at a position where we’re not financially stuck. But there’s a lot we don’t know. We don’t know where we’re going to get our pick. Are we going to be sixth, are we going to be eighth, are we going to be two or three? We don’t know. We know who may be a free agent, but we don’t know for sure until June 30. So we know a lot, and we’re set up to take advantage of the situations — whether it’s to make a trade, take back a player, get a good draft choice, pursue free agency. But once again, it’s a different world than it was 20 years ago. And as much as we’d like to be very competitive and competing for a championship next year, it may or may not happen, ok?”

Mitch Kupchak remains patient, practical, and realistic in the face of enormous pressure from the huge Laker fan base, corporate partners and the team’s impatient, aging shooting guard. He’s honest about the Lakers perhaps not contending for NBA championships in the very near future.

As for Kobe and the loud ticking clock in his head as he stares down basketball mortality? Well, he’ll just have to suck it up, says Kupchak:

“He’ll be fine. He’s got no choice. He’ll be fine. When we lose, he’ll rant and rave and be upset and be hot and won’t talk to anybody, but that’s the way it is. You’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

Former Kentucky Wildcats star Rex Chapman started a rumor that spread like wildfire Monday night, with a tweet claiming it was a “done deal” that John Calipari would take over for Mike D’Antoni in Los Angeles next season. The Lakers say there’s no truth to any of it. Per the OC Register:

“I spoke to Mitch Kupchak and he said the rumor is untrue,” Lakers spokesman John Black said of a tweet from former Kentucky and NBA guard Rex Chapman. “Mike D’Antoni is our coach. There have been no conversation about any specific names for any replacement.”

Joe Smith is a die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan who’s owned very expensive season tickets for over 50 years. He’s not only fed up with the team’s play on the court, but also angry with the organization’s questionable marketing tactics (to say nothing of an apparent lack of a cohesive plan going forward). Per the LA Times:

The former record mogul has four season seats on the baseline next to the Lakers bench. He has held those seats since the team arrived in Los Angeles. He has become as much of a fixture under the basket as the ballboys and Laker girls. No single ticket holder has endured longer, and certainly no single fan has invested more.

For 54 years, Joe Smith has loved the Lakers graciously, gratefully and unconditionally.

But then, two weeks ago, nearing the conclusion of the most rudderless, ridiculous Lakers season in history, Smith received a letter from the Lakers asking that he renew his season tickets two months earlier than in previous seasons.

That’s long before anyone will have any idea about the makeup of the future roster and coaching staff. That also enables the Lakers to collect an extra two months of interest on Smith’s $400,000-plus investment. All for a team that probably will finish with the franchise’s worst record since it came to Los Angeles.

After all this time, Joe Smith is finally considering dumping his tickets.

“This is so out of line,” said Smith. ”The organization has become toxic from top to bottom.”

“I can stand losing, but not the way they are losing,” said Smith. “Not with a coach who has an enormous wave of sentiment against him … not with all the confusion in the front office … it’s become a pathetic operation.”

The final straw for Smith was the letter, sent to the owners of the 14,500 season tickets, announcing the new final ticket renewal deadline is May 19. That is not only much earlier than in previous years, but it is also one day before the NBA draft lottery, smack in the middle of what could be a coaching search, and nearly two months before the Lakers will have a chance to begin signing free agents.

“For those of us who have been with them for 54 years, in good times and bad times, this is unconscionable,” said Smith. “They’re not going to be good for another couple of years at least, there’s times they look like a Developmental League team, it’s really no fun, yet they are arrogantly demanding that we renew earlier and hold our money even longer?”

When contacted for this story, Lakers officials note that they are not increasing the ticket prices — which only means for every home game, Smith still pays $2,750 per seat and $200 for valet parking.

“The world is changing, and as it does, so do the way companies, and not just sports teams, do business,” said John Black, team spokesman. “We need more time to implement new technology for the upgrade and renewal process, and we’re agreeing to the league’s demands that we fall in line with all other NBA team renewal deadlines.”

“I really hate to say this, but right now, you want good and entertaining basketball in this town, you go to the Clippers,” Smith said quietly, almost in a whisper.

Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni trotted out his 33rd different starting lineup Tuesday night in a 124-112 loss to the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. After riding the pine all game to make room for Chris Kaman and Pau Gasol, a frustrated Jordan Hill admitted that he has no desire to play in the same system next season. Per the LA Daily News:

“It gets old,” Hill said, mindful he had posted 28 points in Milwaukee just five days earlier. “It’s what you can expect, though. It’s not a surprise. I can’t do nothing, but stay humble and continue to keep my head high and support my team.”

Yet, it appears clear that Hill has no interest in filling that role long-term. He said “it’s too early to say” on where he would like to play once he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. Hill also called the Lakers “the best franchise in the NBA.” Though he did not rule out returning to the Lakers next season, Hill made it clear he has no interest in doing so if it means having a similar role.

“Of course not,” Hill said. “Who would?”

Hill did not explicitly say it. But if D’Antoni were to return to coach, that surely cements Hill’s interest in leaving. He has averaged a solid 8.8 points and 7.1 assists in 19.8 minutes this season. But his playing time has waned this season for reasons including fatigue, a recent knee injury and becoming a casualty of D’Antoni’s system that puts a high premium on floor spacers and outside shooters.

Hill’s absence against Portland happened, however, reflected the byproduct of D’Antoni featuring Gasol and Kaman in the frontcourt while still giving playing time to Ryan Kelly (nine points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes) and Robert Sacre (three points and six rebounds in 18 minutes).

“There’s not enough minutes,” D’Antoni said. “You look at the minutes. To give them ample opportunities, you have to have some minutes. You can’t just play 12 guys and be in and out, in and out, in and out. That just doesn’t work. You have to make choices. You don’t know beforehand if it’s the right choice. You probably know afterwards. You just go on your gut and go on what you see from previous games and go on the opponent and try to make the best choice you can.”

“I didn’t really see it coming. But I still wasn’t surprised,” Hill said. “The rotation has been up and down. Mike is an excellent dude and he is our coach. You have to show the utmost respect for him and for what he’s doing. I like this team and everybody on this team. So I’ll be supportive.”

(Chris) Kaman is the type who has done far more talking than listening in his life, and some of his talking this season has been about D’Antoni’s rigid, uncommunicative, distrustful coaching of the Lakers while not giving Kaman consistent playing time. Just one week earlier, Kaman had revealed that D’Antoni hadn’t talked to him for the previous three weeks.

D’Antoni has one more guaranteed season left on his Lakers contract, and the club is leaning toward retaining him despite some privately disgruntled players and massive public disdain. It’s not clear which way the organization will go with him.

And whatever it was that LeGarie, a famously smooth negotiator, had said, Kaman did his pregame shooting, came into the locker room and immediately told reporters there that people should be a lot less vicious and a lot more compassionate toward LeGarie’s client, poor Mike D’Antoni.

“He’s not trying to hurt anybody,” Kaman said. “He’s not purposefully doing anything negatively. I think he’s just trying to do the best he can with what we’ve got. All the injuries…I’ve never seen injuries like that before in my life.”

And this: “For as much heat as he takes, I don’t think that he has had a fair shot at it, either.”

And this: “We have to, as players, respect the position of the coach.”

“It’s been a tough year for him, as it has been for a lot of guys,” Kaman said. “Me, in particular, just being in and out, in and out, just trying to figure my way through all of this, I can sort of put myself in his shoes and try to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘What would I do if I was him?’ And it’s hard to answer that question; it’s a tough position.

“Especially with all the injuries we’ve had and all the different things we’ve had to go through, I think it’s no easy task for a coach. Especially with the Lakers. This is a first-rate organization, and they do things better than most. They’re used to winning, and it’s a lot of pressure. And all these injuries didn’t make it any easier for him.”

40-year old Steve Nash isn’t contributing much on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he may (financially speaking) help out down the line. The Lakers reportedly plan to keep Nash around next season, and use his contract to make a splash in the free agent market. Per the LA Times:

Nash sat out another game (Sunday), which is no longer surprising for a player who appeared in only 12 this season.

For financial reasons, the Lakers currently plan to keep him next season, eating the remainder of his contract ($9.7 million) in one swoop instead of waiving him and spreading the money out over three years.

It would give them more money to spend in the summers of 2015 and 2016, when they figure to be active players in the free-agent market amid such possible names as Kevin Love, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

So the Lakers will take the 40-year-old Nash into next season and hope he can play more than a handful of games.

“He’s 40 years old, playing what he loves, so I’m pretty envious. I don’t feel sorry for him,” (head coach Mike D’Antoni) said. “He could have quit early like everybody else did. I think it’s just remarkable.”

“I would think his days are numbered based on Kobe saying he had no interest in playing for him next year,” a source said. “If he isn’t with the Lakers, I believe he will be at Marshall because there is mutual interest.”

The source added that Marshall has donors willing to pony up money in an attempt to woo D’Antoni.

D’Antoni has been the head coach of the Lakers since the early part of the 2012-13 season, but injuries and chemistry issues have married his time in Los Angeles. He has also been the head coach for the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks.

Marshall recently fired Tom Herrion, who had a 67-67 mark in four seasons. Has D’Antoni recently talked with any Marshall representatives?

“I hear from them all the time,” D’Antoni said. “I’m the head of their capital [fundraising] campaign. I’m close friends to them. Whatever they need, I try to do. But who knows.”

D’Antoni played for the Thundering Herd from 1970 to 1973 before being selected in the second round of the 1973 NBA draft to play for the defunct Kansas City-Omaha Kings. D’Antoni eventually played overseas in Italy where he became Olimpia Milano’s all-time leading scorer. D’Antoni’s brother, Dan, also played and coached at the school before serving on Mike’s staffs with both the Suns and Lakers.

But D’Antoni obviously prefers to coach with the Lakers. He has two years left on his contract, though only one of them is guaranteed at $4 million. The Lakers do not plan to evaluate D’Antoni until after the season.

Starting at center for the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night was Chris Kaman, who only found out about it by reading the lineup card. The cold war between Kaman and head coach Mike D’Antoni continues. Per the LA Daily News:

The sarcasm poured out of Chris Kaman’s mouth as he prepared for an unexpected start in the Lakers’ game tonight against the New York Knicks at Staples Center after spending most of the season sitting on the bench.

“I’m thrilled!” Kaman said. “I’m enthralled! I’m ready to go!”

Kaman has sat out the past 10 games partly because he has a sore right foot and mostly because he has fallen out of Mike D’Antoni’s rotation. Kaman also missed time Jordan Hill missing six games this month because of a hyperextended right knee and Pau Gasol missing the second half of the Lakers’ win Sunday over Orlando because of vertigo.

D’Antoni’s rationale for Kaman’s lack of playing time remains two fold. He typically wants to feature a post player with a so-called stretch forward to maximize floor spacing and outside shooting. D’Antoni has also cited Hill and Robert Sacre as better defenders than Kaman.

“Either it’s very short minutes for him, or he starts, and he’s a much better starter,” D’Antoni said. “It wasn’t even his fault. It’s just the way it works out.”

Kaman’s unexpected lack of playing time, the Lakers’ injury-riddled roster and the persistent losing all contributed to what he considered his most frustrating season in his 10-year career.

“By far,” Kaman said. “Ten fold.”

Bold words considering Kaman’s previous circumstances. He played eight seasons with the Clippers when they experienced mediocrity. Kaman was traded to New Orleans in the deal that brought Chris Paul to the Clippers. Kaman had an inconsistent role last season with Dallas.

Kaman signed with the Lakers this offseason to a one-year deal worth the mini mid-level exception ($3.2 million) as a decent consolation prize toward Dwight Howard leaving for Houston. But Kaman has sat out for 32 games mostly because of a string of DNP’s.

“I’m not at peace about it. I’m [ticked] about it,” Kaman said. “I can’t control it. I’m not in charge. I don’t run the show. I don’t run the wheels. I don’t make the clock work. It’s somebody else. I’m a puppet. I don’t have my own strings under control. It’s tough. But the best thing I can do is play and be positive and finish on a strong note.”

Kaman vowed he would not “throw anybody under the bus.” But he also revealed he hasn’t spoken with D’Antoni since they had what he called a “casual conversation” three weeks ago in Portland. Kaman said he learned he would start when D’Antoni announced the starting lineups during morning shootaround. Kaman declined to comment on whether he and D’Antoni ever talked this season about his diminished role.

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni had ruled Nash out last week because of nerve irritation in his back and hamstrings that sidelined him for all but 10 games. But the Lakers only have one true point guard in Kendall Marshall, who is still expected to start against Washington. Jordan Farmar is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks because of strained right groin, while the Lakers struggled in their 125-109 loss Wednesday to San Antonio with a by-committee backcourt that included Jodie Meeks, Kent Bazemore and Xavier Henry.

Nash who hasn’t played a game since Feb. 11 and has averaged 7.6 points and 4.7 assists in 10 games. But he said last week that he has felt healthy enough to play after spending recent weeks rehabbing his back and hamstrings and completing shooting drills. But the Lakers were reluctant to play him for both health reasons and so they could evaluate their young prospects.

The Lakers’ 125-109 loss Wednesday to the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center marked just one of many losses has entailed an injury-riddled roster. But even with the Lakers (22-45) destined to miss the playoffs for only the fifth time in playoff history, both Kupchak and Kobe Bryant showed sympathy for D’Antoni.

“It’s been tough on him,” Bryant said Wednesday on The Dan Patrick Show. “The two years that he’s been here, he’s been dealing with so many injuries left and right. He hasn’t really gotten a fair deal, fair shake at it since he’s been here.”

Bryant offered a non-committal “I don’t know,” on whether D’Antoni should stay. But what about Kupchak?

“I don’t want to get into that with those kind of questions,” Kupchak said. “He’s done a great job and dealt with a year last year when he was here part time and a ridiculous amount of injuries this year.”

D’Antoni has gone 62-77 through nearly two seasons with the Lakers. But the Lakers don’t plan on evaluating him until after the season ends.

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/lakers-gm-mitch-kupchak-says-mike-dantoni-done-great-job-season/feed/46Kobe Bryant Says He Could Play Right Now if the Lakers Were Contenders (VIDEO)http://www.slamonline.com/media/slam-tv/kobe-bryant-says-play-right-now-lakers-contenders-video/
http://www.slamonline.com/media/slam-tv/kobe-bryant-says-play-right-now-lakers-contenders-video/#commentsWed, 19 Mar 2014 20:10:31 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=315315

Dan asked Kobe if Mike D’Antoni deserves another year in L.A.: “I don’t know. It’s been tough on him. He’s been dealing with so many injuries. I don’t know if he’s gotten a fair shake.”

Kobe on Phil Jackson taking a front-office job with the Knicks: “I wasn’t surprised by it. I knew that was going to happen. He and I had breakfast together [a week and half ago]. … There’s only but so much meditation a person can do all day.”

Kobe said that if the team was doing well enough he could play right now.

Kobe on what he’ll be like when he returns: “I personally think you’re going to see the Kobe you’re used to seeing. … I’ve never had a year with this much time off to recover and rest and get stronger.”

Kobe on Carmelo Anthony: “He’s won a championship at Syracuse. He has that championship DNA in him.”

With the free-agent crop looking less enticing than expected this summer, Bryant said he had no patience to wait until July 2015, when All-Star forwards Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge could become free agents.

“No. No. Nope. Not one lick,” he said.

“Oh, yeah, let’s just play next year and let’s just suck again. No. Absolutely not,” he said. “It’s my job to go out there on the court and perform, no excuses for it. Right? You’ve got to get things done.

“Same thing with the front office. The same expectations they have of me when I perform on the court, it’s the same expectations I have for them up there.”

“How can I be satisfied with it? We’re like 100 games under .500. I can’t be satisfied with that at all,” Bryant said. “This is not what we stand for, this is not what we play for.”

“I think we have to start at the top in terms of the culture of our team,” he said. “What type of culture do you want to have? What type of system do you want to have? How do you want to play? It starts there.

“You’ve got to start with Jim. You’ve got to start with Jim and Jeanie and how that relationship plays out. It starts there and having a clear direction and clear authority.

“Then it goes down to the coaching staff. What’s Mike going to do? What do you want to do with Mike? It goes from there. It’s got to start from the top.”

Bryant didn’t provide specifics about personnel changes he wanted.

“I can’t really comment too much on that. I just want to get a phone call when somebody gets traded. Let’s start there,” he said.

Bryant remains defiant about his eventual return to a high level of play.

“I don’t want to say I’ll be back at the top of my game, because everybody’s going to think I’m crazy and it’s the old-player-not-letting-go sort of thing, but … that’s what it’s going to be,” he said.

With a 22-42 record and little hope of further improvement, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni is merely coaching out the string this year in Los Angeles—and likely won’t be back next season.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported on Wednesday morning that he had heard D’Antoni would be out, and that the Lakers’ potential pursuit of free-agent Carmelo Anthony would be the reason. But multiple sources told Sporting News that the reason for D’Antoni’s potential dismissal is closer to home—star guard Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, sources said, has “no interest” in playing for D’Antoni next season, and wants a new coach in place for the 2014-15 season.

Phil Jackson recently sat down for a lengthy chat with USA Today. They discussed his future in the NBA (Phil doesn’t want to coach again), Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets (he thinks they can reach the NBA Finals), the analytics movement, and of course, the floundering Los Angeles Lakers. The Zen Master playfully suggests that Jesus (or Mohammed, maybe Gandhi) would do a good job coaching the Lakers:

“Right, so I think the Lakers will probably stay pretty pat, make another extension of the year that they had this year with the younger players and players coming in that they can look at and see if they can’t get a core group of young players playing together. Trust the fact that Mike (D’Antoni) can kind of blend a gun and run and run and gun team.”

Q: Is there any scenario where you get back in that mix? I’ve heard some chatter that you could become even more involved there, and there’s this idea that time heals all wounds and even though the way the coaching situation went down was botched that you could play a role, whether with (general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) in the front office or something else. Is that plausible at all?

“I don’t think so. I have a good relationship with the vice president in business affairs (Jeanie Buss) — at least it has been pretty good (laughs). She’s dedicated to their family running the business and trying to feel what that’s like. Their father’s memorial service is not a year old, but he has been gone for a year now and they’re still just kind of figuring out, ‘How are we going to do this?’ So I think they want to have an opportunity to do it. And Mitch, obviously, has a relationship with (Lakers executive vice president of player personnel and Jeanie’s brother) Jimmy that has been going on since, I think, 2004 or so, when he started becoming really involved. So for the last 10 years, he and Mitch have been pretty much working together. (Late Lakers owner) Dr. (Jerry) Buss came in on things. We had a few issues. Kobe (Bryant) had an issue one year. We had an issue getting Pau (Gasol). Some of the major moves, Dr. Buss was still there. But the other stuff Jimmy and Mitch have been working on. They’ve got a relationship, so I don’t see that happening.”

Q: Did you ever get complete clarity on whose decision it was to back out of what seemed like an agreement (when the Lakers hired Mike D’Antoni in Nov. 2012 after it appeared Jackson was returning)?

“You know, it was something that has bounced from spot to spot. When I left (the interview), Jimmy was pretty happy about it and Mitch was still saying, “We’re going to keep interviewing people,” and I think the ultimate (decision) kind of rested with Dr. Buss and he made the decision in the hospital the day after. I haven’t chosen to bite on that. I’ve just let that go. I’m real comfortable with it. I don’t have any trouble. I think Jesus could probably coach this team pretty well, but outside of him maybe Mohammed, maybe Gandhi, someone like that.”

Q: I hear you, but there’s still this puzzling dynamic that’s out there relating to you. For all the success you had, guys who worked for you don’t always have the red carpet rolled out like you might think when it comes to getting jobs.

“No. Well, the game has moved on to another level. Three-point shooting has become like the (pauses). Really the analytics people have taken it to the point of saying, ‘The worst shot in the game is a 20-foot jumper, a two-point jumper that’s 20 (feet).’ And the best shot might be the corner three. Efficiency, OERs (offensive efficiency ratings), all these efficiency ratings are pointing to how many points per possession you generate from certain types of shots. … But there’s so much more to the game.

“I like the analytics. We were always on the forefront of that. I’m not going to go after that. I think that it’s a really important movement. I think a lot of owners have turned the game, the general managers’ jobs, over to people who are more analytic-minded than basketball hierarchy or guys who have been around the league. I mean it seems to be the pattern, and I think they speak their language because a lot of these guys are financial guys. You give them statistics — this stock has done such and such over the past three months, and this is up. This is a language that they can talk, and a statistical language that’s pretty good. So I can understand that penchant. I do think that it’s still about that being able to look a guy in the eyes and kind of understand that this one is going to go in the fox hole with you and this guy is going to be one of the guys who’s on board with what we’re doing. Yeah, he’s going to be on the line when it comes to that time that’s the challenge. And then the rest of the stuff kind of falls in together. So I know that the penchant for following a lot of the things that are happening in the league is that as humans we kind of run with the pack a lot. I’ve been a Maverick, and that’s just who I am. But I certainly follow what’s going on and make a decision about what can I use and what’s efficient for me and what’s good for me. You know, the offense that I instituted is not what the NBA was doing in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and the game has moved on by that and a lot of people like to point at the Triangle as antiquated and (say) it works well in women’s basketball etc. etc. But it takes a lot of skill. And to coach skill, you have to spend a lot of time teaching skills.”

“I doubt it,” D’Antoni said after the Lakers’ shootaround Monday when asked if Nash would play again this season with 23 games remaining, starting with the Trail Blazers on Monday night. “I don’t think so. What’s the end game? We’ve talked about it. He’s not completely healthy. We have 23 games left. We’re not going to make the playoffs. So what’s his objective into taking minutes away from the young guys that we’re trying to develop? That’s kind of the theme that we’re talking about.”

Nash was noncommittal about his chances of playing again this season.

“We’ll see,” he said. “I couldn’t really make a prediction. If I get the chance, it would be great.”

Nash has missed the Lakers’ last seven games after returning from nerve root irritation to play a four-game stint in early February. During his short-lived comeback, he collided with Chicago’s Kirk Hinrich, with the point of impact occurring in nearly the same spot on his left leg where he suffered a fracture last season.

“That knee to [his leg], that was crazy,” Nash said. “It just flared everything up. But it’s subsiding and I’m kind of working through it and coming back to where I was.”

The two-time league MVP has averaged 7.6 points and 4.7 assists in 10 games this season while shooting just 36 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from 3 — well below his career marks of 14.3 points, 8.5 assists, 49 percent shooting and 42.8 percent from deep.

The cold war between Pau Gasol and Mike D’Antoni continues to rage. After being criticized for employing ineffective small-ball lineups, D’Antoni stood his ground and the Lakers lost once again (a 108-103 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.) Per the LA Daily News and LA Times:

“The thing I don’t appreciate is, I think every coach, you keep it in house,” D’Antoni said. “It’s very easy to come over and talk about your frustrations. We’ll try to work something out and figure something out. To go to you guys and do it in the papers, that’s disturbing. I don’t think that’s the way to go. I understand we’re all trying to solve the same problems. So let’s put our head together and do the best we can.”

Both D’Antoni and Gasol lamented about the team’s lack of ball movement, with newcomers Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks taking 29 of the Lakers’ 90 field-goal attempts. Gasol attributed this trend toward a lack of discipline, while D’Antoni sounded confused by Gasol’s subtle charge that he doesn’t hold players accountable.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” D’Antoni said. “Last night, we should’ve had more ball movement. But I don’t know what that has to do with discipline. It has to do with guys trying too hard and guys not really understanding the system totally and not getting engrained into it.”

“Yes, there was some frustration but I don’t think there was nothing out of line or nothing that went too far,” Gasol said Wednesday. “I stated something obvious to me. I don’t think I said anything too crazy.”

“We want a certain type of basketball and we’re trying to establish that,” D’Antoni said. “Clearly, the numbers say that when you spread the floor and move the ball, get up and down the floor, then we have a lot better chance to win. And that’s what we want to do.

“We want to establish our identity. This is how we’re going to play and we’re going to get better at it. And we’re going to push the ball and we’re going to evaluate talent. It’s frustrating some players, I understand it.”

“The frustration always comes out on the offensive end, where we’re OK. It never comes out on the defensive end, where we don’t stop anybody,” D’Antoni said. “That’s where I get frustrated because if you’re going to get upset about something, let’s get upset about points in the paint, second-chance points, not getting back on defense.”

Pau Gasol hadn’t complained about his inept Laker teammates and head coach Mike D’Antoni in a while, and he more than made up for it Tuesday night in Indiana. Following yet another crushing loss, Gasol tore into his team for their lack of discipline and selfish ways, and called out D’Antoni for putting out small-ball lineups against bigger, more physical squads. Per the LA Times:

Gasol was irritated with teammates putting up too many one-on-one shots and bothered by D’Antoni’s small-ball lineup, which pitted the slender Wesley Johnson against power forward David West.

Gasol called for more discipline, presumably from D’Antoni, saying there were too many “individual actions” right now.

Eleven of the Lakers’ 15 players are in the final year of their contracts, a big problem on a losing team, no?

“Probably. That’s part of it,” Gasol said. “But that’s why you have to be disciplined and implement discipline. That’s how you kind of make that better or make that not a factor. I don’t think there’s a lot of discipline right now.”

The Lakers were outrebounded, 62-42, an unsurprising statistic because the physical Pacers own the NBA’s best overall (43-13) and home record (27-3).

“When you get outrebounded by 20 rebounds, I don’t care who you are and what you do, it’s not going to work and you’re not going to win,” said Gasol, who had 13 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes.

He was asked how the smaller Johnson would fare against beefy Memphis forward Zach Randolph if the Lakers continued to roll with a small lineup Wednesday.

“Good luck, right?” Gasol said, sighing. “Let’s see what happens [Wednesday] if Wes continues to start or if we actually try to match up and utilize our size because we do have guys with size that can do well.”

D’Antoni didn’t say much to the team after the game.

“Nothing,” he said. “I’m not one to tell them right now. We’ll talk tomorrow morning. We’ll let them cool off a little bit and we’ll show them some film and get a better idea of exactly how bad we played. Hopefully we can go out tomorrow and correct some mistakes.”

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard is back on the winning path, and recently took thinly-veiled shots at the spectacular failure that was the 2012-’13 Los Angeles Lakers. Howard is thrilled with the increased touches and vastly improved team chemistry he’s found in Texas. Per RealGM:

“I don’t have to say, ‘I need the ball,’” Howard said. “The guys here know what we have to do to be successful, to play inside out. We have young guys, and they want to accomplish some things in this league also. I understand that. I understand that we need everyone. If I can make sure that guys are happy, that they’re getting the ball and getting a rhythm, it makes it tough to beat us.

“My time, my shots will come. I want to make sure guys around me are elevated. Me being the oldest guy on the team as far as seasons, I have to understand that I have to show these guys the right way to go.”

Howard scans the Western Conference standings, and he sees unsustainable starts from some. As teams such as the Portland Trail Blazers cement cushion in the playoff chase, a part of him is reminded of those old Cleveland Cavaliers’ 60-win seasons only derailed by dwindling staying power, hobbling to the finish line of a postseason.

“A lot of teams start out hot and cool off,” Howard said, “and I told our guys that we want to stay consistent all season and then make the big push right after All-Star break going into the playoffs. That’s when the opportunity comes.”

“I’ve done that in the past,” Johnson said. “I told [General Manager] Mitch Kupchak that last week. First they have to make up their mind on who they want, and then they tell me, just like I recruited Ron Artest, I talked to Lamar Odom.”

“I talked to [late Lakers’ owner] Dr. [Jerry] Buss when Lamar and Dr. Buss were having that problem for a minute there,” Johnson said, referring to frosty negotiations between the two sides in 2009. “I was able to calm everybody down and make sure they understood how valuable Lamar was, and then Dr. Buss signed him back..

“I’ve been in a lot of different things with the Lakers, but it’s up to them — [owner] Jim [Buss], Mitch [Kupchak], Coach [Mike] D’Antoni to decide who they want. Once they make their decision, they say, ‘Hey, Earvin, can you put in a call to so and so.”

“Our future is a bright future. We’re going to be just fine,” said (GM Mitch Kupchak) on Wednesday to Jared Greenberg and Rick Fox on “SiriusXM NBA Radio.”

“The franchise is going to attract players,” he continued. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have a good draft pick this year. We’ll get a good player there.”

Here’s a rare bit of good news for Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni and owner Jim Buss. From now on, Magic Johnson is gonna try really, really hard not to rip you in the press. (Though, of course, we have our doubts about Magic’s commitment to this newfound Twitter stance):

Laker Nation: I want to give Coach D'Antoni credit because offensively he's put the Lakers' players in positions to be successful!

The two-year, $48.5 million extension Kobe Bryant recently signed remains a controversial subject. Bryant’s former head coach Phil Jackson, had he been in charge of the Los Angeles Lakers’ books, would have offered a smaller deal to the aging superstar. (The Zen Master also had pointed criticism of Dwight Howard’s game.)

Per the LA Daily News:

“They paid him more than I would have gone for,” Jackson said in an interview on NBA TV that aired on Thursday.

“What he’s given to this organization, what he gives back, he brings a certain sense of, ‘We’re going to win!’ ” Jackson said. “You got to have a guy on the team that doesn’t settle for second. That’s one of the areas where the value of Kobe, even at this age, is terrific.” […]

“There’s a good chance that would have happened,” Jackson said of Howard signing an extension with the Lakers if he was the coach. “Dwight gave up a little bit early on the Lakers, but maybe it wasn’t for him. Maybe he just didn’t find the culture exactly what he needed to benefit and blossom from the game. But it cost the Lakers a lot. It cost them a draft pick.”

The Rockets (31-17) rank fifth in the Western Conference, while Howard has averaged 18.1 points and 12.5 rebounds.

“He’s doing, I’d say, OK,” said Jackson. “I think his game has gone backwards since he was in the ’09 playoffs and championship playoffs that year. His post-up game has not developed and that’s the one thing that I felt he can really advance himself with Kevin McHale as his coach and I just don’t know if that’s happened or not this year.”

Gasol lit into teammates and hurled his basketball shoes in the locker room that night.

“That was the most irritated I’ve seen Pau in a long, long time,” Bryant said. “I haven’t really seen him come in and have a tantrum in the locker room, which is good. It’s something that needs to be done.

“It can’t be something where we’re losing and it becomes accepted. Or the whole ‘We gave it a good effort’ sort of thing. We don’t do that around here. That’s not what it’s about. It’s not about giving good effort. It’s about winning championships.”

The Denver Nuggets ran into the perfect opponent to help them get out of their funk — the Los Angeles Lakers’ defense was once again atrocious in a 137-115 home loss on Sunday night. Nate Robinson, en route to 21 points, had a blast repeatedly hanging on the rim following dunks, which got under head coach Mike D’Antoni’s skin (though that didn’t necessarily apply to his players.) Per the LA Daily News:

“I coached Nate. That’s Nate,” D’Antoni said, reflecting on his time with the New York Knicks. “You shrug your shoulders and go on. If I was a player I would have some thoughts. Since I’m sitting over there, it’s hard to do anything.”

D’Antoni was certainly livid with Robinson when he attempted a three-pointer on an opposing team’s basket after time expired. But the Lakers hardly reacted much to Robinson’s taunts at the rim. Then again, the Lakers hardly reacted much on defense for most of the game.

“No one is going to feel sorry for us,” D’Antoni said. “Teams are going to come in and kick us. At a certain point, you have to fight.”

Mike D’Antoni didn’t exactly show a jovial Christmas spirit following the Lakers’ 117-90 loss Monday to the Phoenix Suns at U.S. Airways Center. But he cried Bah Humbug to any Laker fans who are concerned about the team, ranging from its second consecutive loss, the Lakers’ 13-15 road record, the never-ending injuries, the non-existent defense and a competitive Western Conference.

“Why would I be discouraged? We’re fighting with a bunch of good guys that played well and will play well again,” D’Antoni said. “If they’re discouraged, go find another team to root for. I’m alright. We’re not going to give up. Are you kidding me? Discouraged? That’s not even fair to these guys. They’re going to fight.”

[…] “We’ll be back. We’re not going anywhere,” D’Antoni said. “We’re going to fight and try to stay above .500. If anybody hangs their head, then they don’t need to be on our bandwagon. We’re going to fight. We’ll be fine.”

Speaking of discouragement, these short-handed Lakers will be on full display in a nationally-televised Christmas Day showdown with the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.

Mike D’Antoni can posture all he wants about his team’s play so far this season, but deep down inside, even he knows they’re in for a very rough year:

“Keep your head up, D’Antoni said. “This is a slug fest. This isn’t going to be smooth.”

There had been rumblings that the Lakers were considering trading disgruntled center Pau Gasol. According to ESPN, however, Gasol won’t be leaving LA anytime soon:

Sources said Wednesday that the Lakers, after weighing the idea of making Gasol available before the trade deadline in February, are encouraged by the way he’s played in the past three games, as well as his efforts to make amends for his recent public spat with coach Mike D’Antoni.

The Lakers entered the 2013-14 campaign fully intending to keep Gasol for the whole season and then to explore the feasibility of re-signing him in the summer. But it was reported last week the Spaniard’s recent public complaints about how he’s been used in D’Antoni’s system, as well as some subpar play, prompted L.A. to begin assessing its trade options.

However, the way Gasol quickly made amends with conciliatory comments about D’Antoni during the team’s recently completed 2-2 road trip has eased concerns. Gasol had 21 points and nine rebounds in the Lakers’ 96-92 win in Memphis on Tuesday night, after totaling 16 points and 10 rebounds Monday night in a loss to Atlanta. In the two games, Gasol made 16 of 21 shots to raise his overall shooting percentage to .439.

“I just think people go through periods of slumps where you question things,” D’Antoni said of Gasol after Tuesday’s win. “Like I said, we were out of whack. Different things go on. But Pau’s an All-Star, he’s one of the best players in the league, he worked through it and he’s back to normal.”

Pau Gasol isn’t the only big man in LA that’s unhappy with head coach Mike D’Antoni. Chris Kaman is also voicing his displeasure to the media, basically alluding that he feels like the Lakers misled him about his role this past summer. Per the LA Times: “The reserve center continues to find himself at the end of the bench during Lakers games. No playing time, no stat line, nothing. It’s not what he envisioned when he signed a one-year, $3.2-million free-agent deal with the Lakers in July. ‘I’m just going to take the high road and do the right thing, but it’s definitely not what I was told coming in here,’ he said on Monday. ‘Obviously, I would have never came here if they had said, ‘We’re not going to play you at all.’ I thought I had a good opportunity coming here. It’s frustrating and I want to be able to try to help if I can, you know? And I really, truly think I can, but it’s not up to me.’ Kaman was the only healthy Lakers player not used in a 114-100 loss Monday to Atlanta, the lone member of the ‘DNP-Coach’s Decision’ club. ‘I can’t be [irritated] because I’m getting paid a lot of money to do what I do and I can’t complain,’ said Kaman, an 11-year veteran. ‘Obviously, as a human being, I have emotions and things. And so there’s frustration. A lot of people think I’m still hurt, but I assure you I am not still hurt.’ Kaman looked fine during exhibition play, forming a nice rapport with Pau Gasol, but then weird things started happening. He smashed a finger while tobogganing down from the Great Wall of China, a freak occurrence when the sled driven by Shawne Williams hurtled down onto Kaman’s toboggan. He didn’t miss any time for that injury but a few days later was sidelined almost a week because of an intestinal illness. He recovered in time to play the Lakers’ first 12 games, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds until back spasms forced him to miss three weeks. He returned to action Friday against Oklahoma City, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss. He didn’t play Saturday against Charlotte and two days later against Atlanta. Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni sympathizes with Kaman, continually telling reporters he wants to find him some playing time.”

Things were supposed to be different this season. Alas, they are not. Pau Gasol still doesn’t fit into Mike D’Antoni’s run & gun system and philosophy, which may eventually lead to his departure from the Lakers. Per the LA Times: “In one corner of the Lakers’ practice gym stood Pau Gasol, his constant smile pulled tight. ‘The fact that I’m not getting the ball in the post affects directly my aggressiveness,’ he said. ‘When I’m not getting the ball where I want to, where I’m most effective, where I can bang guys and utilize my skill, that affects my aggressiveness and overall intensity. I can’t lie to him… Our numbers tell us the worst thing we do is post up,’ he said. The short distance between the Lakers’ struggling big man and their headstrong coach Thursday felt like miles, a giant chasm filled with disillusionment, disappointment and boos. Once the most embraced Laker, Gasol has become the most scorned. His reluctant offense and dissolvable defense have elicited a dark rumble from Staples Center fans every time he goes near the ball. He is shooting a career-low 42%, five opposing big men have already run over him to equal or top their career best in points, and everyone has been wondering when Pau Gasol is going to fight back. On Thursday, in his own kindly way, he finally did. […] ‘This year hasn’t been ideal, certain things are not ideal for me, but that’s not going to change any time soon,’ he said. So why hasn’t it been ideal? ‘What do you think?’ he said. ‘I’m not going to say anything, but it’s easy to see. You see a guy with a certain skill set, where does it fit better, where it doesn’t.’ When asked about D’Antoni’s sometimes pointed criticism of his toughness, Gasol shrugged. ‘I don’t pay attention. Mike is sometimes all over the place, I don’t give much credit to things like that,’ he said. When asked if D’Antoni has ever discussed this criticism with him directly, for the first time in the interview, Gasol sounded irked. ‘Nope, zero. Nope, zero,’ he said. ‘Like I said, it’s not ideal, but it is what it is.’ A few minutes later, in another part of the emptying gym, D’Antoni offered his own shrug and acknowledged he has never discussed his criticisms directly with Gasol. ‘We know how he has to be,’ D’Antoni said. ‘We talk, but he has to produce. He knows how to play, he knows what he has to do.'”

According to Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers sputtered to start the season (going 10-9 without their superstar, and 0-2 since Bean’s return.) Not so, says Mike D’Antoni. The head coach thinks the Bryantaires did just fine. Per ESPN: “After Kobe Bryant downplayed the Los Angeles Lakers’ modest success in going 10-9 without him, saying Monday, ‘It’s not like we were gangbusters before,’ coach Mike D’Antoni came to the defense of Bryant’s teammates. ‘I have to disagree with that,’ D’Antoni said after Tuesday’s shootaround in advance of the Lakers’ game against the Phoenix Suns. ‘We were 6-2 in the last eight [games before Bryant’s return] and I thought we played extremely well, winning three [in a row] on the road. … So, that’s not quite right. I’m really proud of what the guys did.’ Whether the difference in opinion has more to do with Bryant’s elevated standards as a five-time champion than it does with him disparaging his teammates is open to interpretation. But even D’Antoni had some critical remarks for the team Tuesday. ‘Our defense is fairly good,’ D’Antoni said of the Lakers, who are 19th in defensive efficiency, allowing 102.4 points per 100 possessions. ‘We can be better, always be better, but in the paint we’re awful and we’ve got to get tougher.'”

After giving himself a failing grade for his debut performance of the season on Sunday night, Kobe Bryant took a closer look at the tape, and declared that he had been a little too harsh on himself. Per the AP: “It’s the uncertainty of knowing how it’s going to take,’ Bryant said after a light workout Monday at the Lakers’ training complex. ‘In between timeouts, in between quarters, halftime, how is it going to feel? Is it going to stiffen? There’s always that uncertainty.’ It just takes time, and Bryant will go back to work Tuesday night against Phoenix in his second game back from a torn Achilles tendon. Although he couldn’t immediately step into his customary role as the Lakers’ dominant player, coach Mike D’Antoni realizes the Lakers’ fortunes are tied to the five-time NBA champion guard, particularly in a transitional season for the long-dominant team. ‘We know, and everybody knows, he’s got to be the closer,’ D’Antoni said. ‘And as soon as we can get him there, the more times he’s in that position, he’ll get closer to doing it.’ Bryant had nine points on 2-for-9 shooting with eight rebounds and eight turnovers over 28 minutes in his season debut Sunday night, unable to spark a comeback in the Lakers’ 106-94 loss to the trade-depleted Raptors. Bryant ripped himself after the loss, saying he had no rhythm with his teammates and awarding himself a letter grade of ‘F.’ After watching film until 2 a.m. following the game, Bryant corrected that grade to a ‘D.’ … ‘It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was,’ Bryant said. ‘The turnovers and things like that, a lot of it was just missed timing. We made some pretty good reads, got my guys some pretty good looks. In terms of the floor game, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.’ The Lakers reacted to Bryant’s return with a mix of excitement and discombobulation, particularly from the newcomers who had never suited up with the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history. Nick Young and Xavier Henry both called it a dream come true, but both scorers also acknowledged deferring to Bryant all night. D’Antoni repeatedly said the Lakers were ‘disrupted’ by Bryant’s return, and while the coach meant it pragmatically, the negative connotation will linger until the Lakers adapt.”

D’Antoni was confident that the long layoff would not affect Bryant’s impact on the game.

“He’ll be a dominant player,” D’Antoni said. “He can play any way. He can play below the rim, above the rim, beside the rim. I mean, the guy can play any way. He’ll figure out how he’ll be effective and then he’ll come at you with everything he’s got. That’s been his M.O., and I think that’s what he’ll do.”

Despite the fact that Kobe Bryant rejoined his Los Angeles Lakers teammates on the practice floor, the coaching staff continues to preach patience when it comes to his true return to the court. According to Bleacher Report, the doctors have given Kobe the green light to take part in all hoops-related activity: “Bryant has full medical clearance, I was told Sunday by someone in a position to have such knowledge—meaning he can do anything and everything without restriction as the recovery from his ruptured left Achilles tendon nears its conclusion. Lakers coaches and basketball operations staff are all content to wait for Bryant to decide in his own mind when he’s ready to resume one of the greatest careers in basketball history after one of the worst injuries that can befall any basketball player. Dec. 6 at Sacramento? Earlier? Later? It’s Bryant’s call, but what is certain is he can now push himself as far as he wants in his first full-speed practices of the season beginning Tuesday. After so many recent days of running but no sprinting or sprinting but no cutting or this but not that, Bryant has been freed even for five-on-five contact scrimmaging whenever he so chooses. The reason Bryant was able to appear in Lakers team practice Saturday—albeit in a very limited capacity, with players doing less-than-full-speed drills against no defense—was because any and all restrictions on his activity had been lifted. Even with full clearance, though, Bryant is not expected to jump right back into game action Friday night against Golden State or even the next week of Thanksgiving. Bryant wants to test his ankle joint and see how it responds, which he will get to on an initial basis with full-scale team practices set for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”

Despite an encouraging return to practice over the weekend, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni cautions against anyone expecting Kobe Bryant to suit up for a game anytime soon. Per the LA Times: “I know we’re all excited, everybody’s excited, and I’m sure he’s excited, but [it’s] a little bit premature right now,’ D’Antoni said Sunday. ‘You’re dealing with, ‘Is he sore today? Is there a setback tomorrow?’ That’s the first step and there’s a lot of steps to be taken, so I just think we need to be cautious. We just better be cool and chill out a little bit.’ Saturday’s practice was closed to reporters, but Bryant ‘surprised most people’ and did some jumping but no dunking, D’Antoni said. ‘Two 360s and threw the ball off the side of the wall and dunked one time,’ D’Antoni joked. […] The big question — what will Bryant look like when he returns? ‘There will be some struggles early. There’s no way that he comes back with everything,’ D’Antoni said. ‘But at the same time, his 10% is better than most people.’ D’Antoni was optimistic that Bryant would eventually be fine. He averaged 27.3 points, six assists and 5.6 rebounds last season. ‘He’ll be what he is. He’ll drive and he’ll do what he does and he’ll post up and he posts up great, so obviously we’ll do that,’ D’Antoni said. ‘We’ll get him at all the spots he’s good at.'”

… They won’t publicly admit it, anyway. Most Laker fans have given up on the ageing, broken-down point guard, but head coach Mike D’Antoni insists that Steve Nash still has something left to offer. Per the LA Times: “There’s always going to be a debate but we’re not going to debate it, talk about it,’ Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni said Tuesday. ‘He’s going to try to get ready, he’s going to try to play and we’re going to try to win. It’s really simple for us. It’s not real difficult.’ Nash has already missed three of nine games and is out at least two more weeks because of nerve damage in his back, the latest injury to hit him since he joined the Lakers. But should he retire? He makes $9.3 million this season and $9.7 million next season. If he’s found physically unable to play by Lakers back specialist Robert Watkins, Nash still receives full compensation. The NBA would then do its due diligence, sending a league-appointed physician to verify the findings of Lakers doctors. If the league signed off, the final year of Nash’s contract would be completely removed from the Lakers’ salary cap — as long as he played in fewer than 10 games this season. The Lakers aren’t thinking that way. Neither is Nash. Plus, medical retirements are rare in the NBA. […] The Lakers have nearly cleared their books for next summer: Nash, Robert Sacre ($915,243) and Nick Young ($1.2-million player option) are the only ones with guaranteed contracts. Even if the NBA didn’t approve a Nash retirement, the Lakers could use their ‘stretch provision’ to waive him next summer and spread out his final $9.7 million over three seasons. For now, Nash will work to return to the court, with medical retirement an option only if he is truly unable to make it back. ‘Steve will just have to get back as soon as he can and then we’ll see where we are,’ D’Antoni said.”

The Lakers’ coaching staff yanked Steve Nash after just 13 minutes of play last night, as the 39 year-old point guard suffered through intense back pain. Nash will visit with a back specialist today. Per the team website and LA Daily News: “I’m concerned,’ coach Mike D’Antoni said postgame. ‘He was struggling physically tonight, you could just see it on his face and that’s why I took him out. We shut him down more or less. He was struggling.’ Steve Blake also expressed concern for his teammate. “I hate to see him struggling like that with injuries,’ Blake said. ‘Hopefully we can get him back (soon).’ […] ‘You can call it the back. You can call it the nerves,’ Nash said, referring to the feeling he still has in his surgically repaired left leg. ‘The pain in the hamstring. They’re all the same things. It gets a lot of convoluted. It’s basically the same thing.’ All that came to a standstill Sunday against Minnesota. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni noticed Nish limping as he labored for two points on three missed field-goal attempts, two free throws and three assists in 13 minutes. Nash then sat out the entire second half to receive treatment in the trainer’s room. ‘I see his face. I’ve known him forever,’ said D’Antoni, who also coached Nash with the Phoenix Suns from 2003 to 2008. ‘When he looks like that, you know he’s trying to battle through something. We just couldn’t do it. He was struggling physically, you could just see it on his face and that’s why I took him out and we shut him down more or less.’ That left Nash second-guessing himself for playing until D’Antoni yanked him out of the lineup. ‘It was probably foolish on my part that I didn’t [ask out of the game],’ Nash said.”

Late in the fourth quarter of a tight game, Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni employed a method that he absolutely hated when Dwight Howard was playing for him. Hack-a-Howard worked to perfection, even as the big fella clownishly tried to run away from the intentional fouls, and the Rockets went down in dramatic fashion. Per NBA.com: “There were those dozen free-throw attempts that the Lakers gave Howard in the fourth quarter that he might not have had more trouble getting down if he’d been trying to swallow logs. It was a 99-98 L.A. win in the first week of November that revealed precious little about how Howard’s old team or his new one will look in the meat of the schedule. But it was an opportunity for the Lakers to exorcise four months of abandonment feelings left by the only high profile star to ever pull up stakes and walk out on the NBA’s most glamorous franchise and it was a night for the Rockets to remember that though they won the $80-million free agent tug ‘o war, their prize doesn’t come without inherent flaws. ‘We’ll see them again,’ Howard said. ‘There’s so many emotions, we’d have to go through and array of stuff,’ said Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni. ‘We win on the road the first time. We beat a good team. We played better. I mean, down there somewhere, yeah, I’m human. It’s great (to beat Howard). He made his choice, which is good. You’ve got to respect that. He’s fine. They’re gonna have a great team and he’s a great player.’ However, in this game Howard was little more than average, scoring 15 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and looking confined and uncomfortable. […] A year ago, as Howard’s coach, D’Antoni chafed at the rules when opponents intentionally fouled his All-Star center when games were on the line. But with the Rockets wiping out a 19-point Laker lead and riding James Harden’s 35 points to surge in front midway through the fourth quarter, D’Antoni wasn’t at all averse to hacking the big man at every opportunity. Howard finished up shooting 5-for-16 on free throws for the night and was 5-for-12 in the fourth quarter. From the time the Lakers first hacked Howard with 3:24 left in the game, Harden never scored again. ‘I thought it went real well because we took Harden out of the game,’ D’Antoni said. ‘I think it worked pretty good. And he made foul shots. That’s about as good as he’ll do. “Harden’s tough to guard 1-on-1 and I’d rather have Dwight there instead of Harden. That’s not gonna work all the time. That doesn’t mean you’re not gonna use it if it’s out there. I’m not crazy. But if I could change it, I would probably change the rule.'”

It didn’t take very long for Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni to demote Nick Young (in favor of Xavier Henry), but the relentlessly positive forward is taking it in stride, and hopes to make the most of his new role. Per the LA Daily News and Lakers Nation: “That’s my man. No bad blood,’ Young said of Henry. ‘What’s the ice skater lady?’ Young was jokingly referred to Tonya Harding, the former U.S. figure skater whose ex-husband conspired to assault competitor Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 U.S Figure Skating Championship. ‘It’s cool. It’ll be all right,’ Young said. ‘It’s too early to try to start some controversy. I’m going with the flow.’ Henry has become one of the Lakers’ most pleasant surprises, averaging 13 points on 40 percent shooting. Meanwhile, Young has averaged 8.3 points on only a 27 percent clip. ‘Xavier is a better defender,’ D’Antoni said. ‘Guys have certain attributes. He doesn’t get his shot as well as Nick, but he gets it. We needed that to start the game off with a mindset. It’s a lot of little factors. It’s early to say this is for sure. But it’s something to try right now.’ Young hardly provided much of an explanation for his shooting struggles other than ‘just missing shots.’ But he said he and D’Antoni talked about his role and remains on board with it.”

Someone brought up 6th man of the Year to Nick Young, all smiles, he said “That’s my goal”

With health and age being major concerns for Steve Nash, the Los Angeles Lakers’ point guard says he’s ready to sit out the back-end of games on consecutive nights (though head coach Mike D’Antoni hasn’t made a final decision.) Per the LA Times: “I want to play them all, but if missing the back end of some or all the back-to-backs prevents me from missing a month or two because of injury, then I think it’s something you’ve got to look at,’ Nash said Tuesday. The Lakers play 19 sets of back-to-backs this season. That would be a lot of games to miss. Nash is under contract next season too. Basically, Nash and Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni will get together on the second day of consecutive games and determine whether the NBA’s oldest point guard will play that night. ‘What you don’t want is for the body to be really stiff and not be able to gain that mobility and then go out there and do some damage,’ Nash said. He was bothered by a sore ankle and stiff neck this month and stalled by injuries throughout last season — a broken leg, followed by nerve damage resulting from the fracture, then a different nerve problem that required epidural shots because of hip pain and hamstring weakness. Even if he is supposed to sit out, Nash will suit up in case of an in-game injury or early foul trouble for other Lakers point guards. ‘If you get somebody hurt right in the first minute, then he’s going to have to play,’ D’Antoni said.”

Things did not go well between Pau Gasol and head coach Mike D’Antoni during their first year together. They were downright awful, in fact. D’Antoni has begun to rebuild his relationship with the big fella, and says things went sour because the Lakers tried so hard (and failed) to make Dwight Howard happy last season. Per USA Today: “‘It was very uncomfortable,’ D’Antoni, the Lakers coach, said about the Howard-Gasol dynamic last season. ‘I knew I was messing on (Gasol) last year. That’s not fair to him. But that was the situation we were in. How do we make the best of it? I was just trying to make the best of it. But no, it wasn’t fair to him. I think it was all (politics). It was all that. We wouldn’t do that (normally). If nobody had names on their jerseys, and we were just playing? You go through Pau. There’s not a question. No question.’ It’s certainly not a question anymore. With the Lakers opening Tuesday night (10:30 ET, TNT) against the Los Angeles Clippers and hoping to shock the masses by sneaking into the playoffs six months from now, Gasol finally has his long-overdue chance to regain his rightful place in the league’s lexicon. He is a four-time All-Star and champion who was too soon forgotten, the 33-year-old free agent-to-be who had his ailing knees fixed during the summer and now wants to round out his remarkably accomplished career with a few more seasons of, as D’Antoni puts it, ‘devastating’ play. The Lakers won’t have (Kobe) Bryant for the foreseeable future as he continues to recover from his April Achilles tendon tear and are already dealing with another round of health setbacks from point guard Steve Nash. In the here and now, they likely will go as far as Gasol can carry them. And that, as he well knows, means he must play like the Gasol of old rather than the old Gasol. ‘I definitely believe I can do it,’ Gasol said. ‘I know it. I bounced back really well. The procedure went well, my tendons are a lot healthier now than they were before. I have a lot more healthy tissue that regenerated well. I worked hard during the summer to be in the position that I’m in today, and I look forward to just to going out there and doing what I know best.'”

Head coach Mike D’Antoni introduced himself to Lakers fans and media last season with promises of bringing Showtime back to Hollywood. Everyone knew then that he was crazy and that this would never happen. D’Antoni says he’s finally reached the same conclusions. Per the LA Times: “When Mike D’Antoni became the Lakers’ coach last season, he wanted them to be a fast-paced team that scored around 110 points a game. Then reality set in. With their aging roster, the Lakers averaged 102.2 points. ‘i was on drugs back then,’ D’Antoni said with a laugh after Monday’s practice. ‘My knee was hurting, Vicodin was killing me.’ This time around, D’Antoni has more realistic expectations. When asked what he’s thinking the team’s pace should be, the coach didn’t mince words. ‘I’m not thinking,’ D’Antoni said. ‘Obviously it didn’t work out last year so I don’t know. We’re just going to try to score as many as we can and hold them to as [few points] as we can.’ D’Antoni said he wants the Lakers to be in the top five teams in the league in pace. ‘It won’t be breakneck speed,’ he said. Steve Nash said the Lakers weren’t equipped for the type of basketball D’Antoni had envisioned. ‘We didn’t have the makeup for that type of play,’ the 39-year-old point guard said. ‘We didn’t have maybe the shooting or the athleticism last year.’ … ‘I dont think we should play that fast,’ he said. ‘I think there’s a certain pace, a continual pace that’s important to find.'”

Kobe Bryant sat and watched his team lose an exhibition game to the Golden State Warriors in Beijing, China. According to Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni, Kobe is going to be doing a lot more watching from the bench. Per Reuters and the LA Times: “‘No, I don’t think so,’ D’Antoni told reporters when asked if Bryant would be ready for the Lakers’ 2013-14 season opener versus the Los Angeles Clippers on October 29. ‘It’s an ongoing process, but that would be tough.’ Bryant, a five-time National Basketball Association champion and 15-time All-Star, was with his team for Tuesday’s pre-season game in Beijing and watched from the Lakers bench as the Golden State Warriors enjoyed a 100-95 win. The two teams will play again on Friday in Shanghai. […] (D’Antoni) added Bryant’s 20-minute jogging session Monday went well. ‘Nobody said it was bad. We just have to wait awhile.'”

39-year old Steve Nash couldn’t get his sore left ankle loosened up enough to play past the first quarter last night against the Sacramento Kings. Though Nash remains cautiously optimistic, Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni admits that the injury could be a lingering headache throughout the season. Per the LA Times and LA Daily News: “He can only hope it’s not a season-long issue. The veteran point guard disclosed after the Lakers’ 104-86 defeat at MGM Grand Garden Arena that his ankle has bothered him since about a week before the start of training camp. ‘Tonight was just one of those nights that for whatever reason it just wasn’t moving freely and I couldn’t get it to loosen up and it started to get worse,’ said Nash, who went scoreless with two assists in only eight minutes. ‘I don’t want any setbacks so we called it, and I’ll just try to make sure I can get it right for the subsequent days before our next exhibition game.’ Nash said he hoped to play Tuesday when the Lakers open their two-game trip to China with an exhibition against the Golden State Warriors in Beijing. Did Nash, who will turn 40 in February, fear he might have to deal with the ankle all season long? ‘It has gotten better,’ he said. ‘At the start of camp, it wasn’t very good at all and then through camp it did improve and I think today was more of an unfortunate day than just a real problem. It could linger throughout the season, but I don’t expect that to be the case. I’m hoping that through this month I can try to put it behind me. It’s kind of a little bit of a dance because I need this time to prepare. At the same time, obviously you don’t want to pound the ankle to where I’m not able to function.’ […] The Lakers had already limited Nash in practices and games in hopes the 39-year-old point guard can stay healthy. He missed 32 games last season, for reasons including a fractured left leg and persisting hamstring and back issues. Through two preseason games, Nash had averaged two points and 5.5 assists in 21.9 minutes. D’Antoni also sat Nash out of the team’s preseason opener to conserve his energy on the second night of a back-to-back game. Will Nash’s latest injury prompt D’Antoni to limit him even more? ‘That will depend on his ankle,’ D’Antoni said. ‘He will tell me. He said he couldn’t warm it up. Every once in a while, it will happen.'”

Kobe Bryant recently bounced from the Lakers to head to Germany and receive treatment on his surgically repaired knee, which isn’t too big of a deal—it’s certainly not the first time Kobe has traveled overseas for some slightly shady medical procedure—but according to the NY Daily News, the Lakers star took off without even alerting his head coach. Sorry, Mike: “Still recovering from his torn Achilles last April, Bryant has yet to be cleared to run or jump by the Lakers. His return date to the team for game action is unknown. The team said he went to Germany for treatment unrelated to the Achilles injury. Interestingly, he didn’t tell Mike D’Antoni that he was leaving, choosing to notify the team’s long-time trainer, Gary Vitti, instead. ‘Kobe not telling Mike D’Antoni tells you something about what Kobe thinks of coaches, and also Mike’s status,’ said one NBA head coach. ‘Now if that were Phil Jackson, I would think Kobe would have told him he was going.’ Beyond Bryant showing D’Antoni a lack of respect, there has to be major concern among the Lakers about their aging superstar’s sore knee. He raved about the Orthokine treatment in 2011, saying it made him ‘a lot stronger,’ and he was able to regain some quickness and explosion going to the basket. But he was 33 at the time and now he’s two years older.”

Gasol is finally in the last year of his contract, coming off a bunch of career lows last season and a knee procedure that sidelined him the entire summer. But he’s still here in Los Angeles, somewhat miraculously in NBA circles, more than 5½ years after a multiplayer deal, including Kwame Brown, helped turn him into a Laker. “I’m a survivor,” Gasol says self-deprecatingly. He’ll be a free agent next July after earning $19.3 million this season, but people only talk about the Lakers trying to sign LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony next summer, never about re-signing Gasol.

Can a four-time All-Star be underappreciated? Certainly. Is it possible to forget about a guy who had 19 points and 18 rebounds in a Game 7 victory in the NBA Finals? Entirely. But remember, Gasol was still on the court when the Lakers were destroyed by San Antonio in last season’s playoff sweep. “Last guy standing,” Gasol said ruefully, reflecting on Kobe Bryant’s season-ending injury and Dwight Howard’s Game 4 ejection as part of the failed championship expectations that accompanied a $100-million payroll. […] “It’s nice to be here in the last year of my contract,” Gasol said. “I’d love to continue to play with the Lakers [next year]. We’ve been through so much together. Mostly amazing moments and some hard moments too. It’s like a relationship. If you’re still together, it shows improved strength and consistency and how solid the relationship is. Hopefully we’ll see if we can extend it.”

With Dwight Howard in Houston now, Gasol will be the Lakers’ go-to-guy in the post. GM Mitch Kupchak says that, health permitting, the Spaniard will become an NBA All-Star once again this season.

Pau Gasol has survived plenty of turmoil during his time in Hollywood, and can’t imagine himself playing in any other city. It’s hard to picture him elsewhere, but not impossible.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni bungled the front-court situation last year in spectacular fashion — unable to get Dwight Howard to buy into his pick&roll schemes, and alienating Pau Gasol. With Howard out of the picture, D’Antoni says Gasol is a better option on the block, anyhow. Per NBA.com: “Question: How much of (praising Gasol) is propping him up, giving him that encouragement, and how much do you really believe this team is better with Pau than it would have been with Dwight? Answer: ‘I think those are two different points. When you say he’s one of the best skilled big men in the league, that’s not propping him up. That’s the truth. If the franchise had made a decision last year to kind of go another direction because of youth then you had to play around that. That was the direction it was going. But if you tell me right now who’d you rather post up, you want to post up Pau or you want to post up Dwight Howard and give him the ball? No (question). [Indicating Gasol] But if you want to re-sign somebody, who do you want? That’s where the problem was. It was clear who was the best post man. It’s nothing against Dwight. That’s the reality.’ Q: But is this team better off if it had Dwight now or with Pau there? A: ‘We’ll see, We’ll see. I don’t want to go out that far because obviously there’s an answer and I don’t want to offend anybody. I love Pau’s game. I think Pau’s won two championships and I think Pau’s been very instrumental. Like Lamar Odom at the four and Pau at the five, and now you’re back there. It kind of speaks for itself.’ Q: How glad are people — you, maybe players in the locker room — to just be done with all the craziness and say, ‘We don’t have to do that for another four or five years?’ A: ‘You’re done with the uncertainty. You’re done with ‘Does he want to be here or not? Do you have to appease him because then you’ll lose him?’ You’re done with that. So now you can just — you know what, we’re going to try this.’ Q: In other words, if he had been back …. A: ‘Then we’d have been fine too.’ […] Q: Do you feel this team is better with this team than if Dwight had been here? A: ‘I think if Dwight were here it would have made us better. Yeah, I think it would. Yeah. He impacts the game, there’s no doubt about it.'”

Now that he’s an LA Clipper, former Laker Antawn Jamison can speak freely about the disaster that was the Kobe/Dwight duo. Jamison thinks Howard and Bryant, despite being great players, simply failed to develop the required trust to make their short-lived partnership work. Per ESPN: “I would never count Kobe Bryant out of anything,’ Jamison said Friday. ‘I’ve played with some special players. Gilbert Arenas when he was [in Washington D.C], at the top of his game, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal [in Cleveland]. I’ve played with a lot but never played with an individual player who had the type of mindset, the drive that he has. If [Bryant] says he’s going to win a sixth ring, believe me, he’s going to do everything possible to get that ring. Of course, on the outside looking in you could say, well, that might not happen this year or whatever with him coming off the injury and the Lakers trying to get things together. But I mean, that guy, he’s going to do everything possible to get that sixth ring.’ […] What Jamison never figured out though, was why the relationship between Bryant and Howard never developed on the court. ‘It was difficult,’ he said. ‘I really believed before we got started that those two could co-exist. But it just didn’t work out that way. Both guys are unbelievable basketball players, the best we have in the game right now. But for whatever reason we just couldn’t get that relationship as far as them communicating and them trusting each other the way you needed them to trust each other in order for us to win a championship. It just didn’t happen that way.'”

Dwight Howard famously balked at head coach Mike D’Antoni pick-and-roll heavy offensive schemes during his disastrous one-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers. Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin says he can’t wait to try it out with Howard in Houston. Per the AP: “Lin told reporters Sunday on a visit to Beijing that he saw a natural affinity in the pair’s affection for the pick-and-roll game. ‘We’re not yet in Houston and haven’t trained together so I don’t know yet,’ said the 25-year-old point guard, who was in China to oversee a basketball camp. ‘But he really likes to play pick-and-roll and I really like to play pick-and-roll, so I hope we can work really well together and really happily learn how to play with each other,’ Lin said. […] The Rockets went 45-37 during Lin’s first season with the team and lost to the Oklahoma Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. The addition of Howard is expected to put the team in contention for a title. Lin said it was too early to talk about his future in Houston after his first season in which he started all 82 regular-season games and averaged more than 13 points and six assists. ‘Right now I know there’s always speculation about what might happen, but I haven’t made any decisions I haven’t thought about it and I’m going to approach that question when the time comes,’ Lin said.”

Kobe Bryant has been discussing playing for a few more years with the Lakers, and that timetable was a factor in Dwight Howard’s decision to sign with the Rockets. Howard’s rift with Mike D’Antoniis well-known, and the big man also requested that D’Antoni be fired. Ric Bucher reports that the big man’s requests to fire Mike D’Antoni and amnesty Kobe Bryant were simply too much for the Lakers: “Talks with various people close to the situation make it clear there were two prerequisites for Dwight Howard to remain a Laker: fire Mike D’Antoni and amnesty, or at the very least muzzle, Kobe Bryant. As audacious as that might sound, it doesn’t come without precedent in Lakers’ history. When Kobe re-upped in 2004, it coincided with Shaq being shipped to Miami and Phil Jackson being let go. Of course, Kobe didn’t have to pressure the team braintrust — Mitch Kupchak and Jerry and Jim Buss — to make those moves, since Dr. Buss, in particular, was done with both Shaq and Phil at the time. The Lakers apparently asked Dwight to be patient on both fronts for at least another season, telling him ‘hey, you’re going to have to gut this out another year,’ a source said, although it sounds as if VP of basketball ops Jim Buss isn’t ready to abandon Kobe anytime soon. ‘Dwight didn’t want to play with Kobe for 2-3 more years,’ Buss said. ‘I’m going to stand behind Kobe because of his history with the franchise.’ It would seem, then, with all that happened, the Lakers had the wherewithal to keep Howard if they had desired; they simply found the price too high.”

According to Jeanie Buss, a Los Angeles Lakers executive and co-owner, broadcasting could be in Phil Jackson’s future. Jeanie says her fiancé has no official capacity within the organization — though he does some consulting — but her brother Jim claims he’d be fine with Jackson taking on a bigger role. Per Comcast: “Are you prepared to hear Phil Jackson, Lakers color analyst? That’s one of several roles Jeanie Buss opined he’d be willing to fill if the franchise needed. ‘Right now he has no official position,’ Jeanie said of Phil’s role with the team. ‘He wants to be supportive of me and the organization. He has no contractual obligation. He would listen to anything where he might be able to help. If we asked him to fill in on the broadcast because someone was out, I’m sure he’d do it. Just because everyone puts him as a coach doesn’t mean that’s the only thing he’s capable of doing.’ Jim Buss welcomes Phil’s involvement – to a degree. ‘We can call him at any time,’ Jim said. ‘(GM) Mitch (Kupchak) has sat down with him several times, especially with the Dwight situation. I’d be more than happy to have him on a consultant basis. I don’t think we’re paying him and I don’t know if he has an official title. I have no idea if Jeanie wants to sit down and discuss that. But I have no issues with him coming back or having a role.'”

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/lakers-may-ask-phil-jackson-to-help-broadcast-games/feed/16Dwight Howard Willing to Be a Power Forward Next to Omer Asikhttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/dwight-howard-willing-to-play-power-forward-next-to-omer-asik/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/dwight-howard-willing-to-play-power-forward-next-to-omer-asik/#commentsMon, 19 Aug 2013 18:00:14 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=285084

“There is no need to adjust. I have been playing basketball for my whole life. I started it up playing a point guard,” the NBA star told reporters at a press conference to welcome his third visit to Taiwan.

“I think it can make our team tougher. We need [me] being as a power forward some games and Asik being a center. We will have a big lineup, and it will be tough for teams to truly score,” the 27-year-old center said. “You have two guys to play great defense in the paint. So I think it is positive, and it is no conflict,” he added.

Could the loss of Dwight Howard, an All-Star and one of (and probably the) best centers in the NBA, actually make the Lakers better? That’s Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s theory. Per the LA Times: “Addition by subtraction? The Lakers can only hope, despite their very public courting of Howard that started a mere eight weeks ago and crashed and burned barely a week later. ‘We’ve definitely improved our shooting and I think the chemistry will be better just because the uncertainty has gone away,’ D’Antoni said. ‘A lot of people will know their roles better and what’s going on on the floor better. Dealing with free agency day to day, we won’t have those problems.’ The Lakers added Nick Young, Jordan Farmar, Wesley Johnson and veteran center Chris Kaman. ‘We’re real excited about some of the possibilities and trying to develop some guys that will turn into good players,’ D’Antoni said. ‘It’ll be good for them, good for the Lakers. It’s always exciting to have young guys like that who are willing to learn, willing to work hard.’ … Yet D’Antoni thinks the Lakers can improve upon last season’s 45-37 record … if they stay healthy. ‘I don’t see why not,” he said. ‘I think we can be better because I don’t think we reached our potential last year. Our lack of defense came mostly from lack of energy from guys that didn’t feel right in their place on the team. Defense is energy, concentration and the desire to do it. If something is sapping that energy — distractions, injuries, not feeling good about the team — then you’re not going to put your heart and soul into it and it comes out on the defensive end. They just didn’t feel each other.'”

Lakers superstar guard Kobe Bryant will soon turn 35. With age and injuries catching up to him, Bryant says he hopes to play a few minutes less next season. Per the LA Times: “With an Achilles’ injury, it’s just one of those freak situations,’ said Bryant, who didn’t want to blame his April season-ending tear on playing too many minutes. Will he accept a reduced role next year? ‘That’s the goal,’ Bryant said. ‘We got a little younger and picked up a couple of wing players who I really think will help us tremendously next year — Nick Young and Wesley Johnson. I really look forward to them easing the load.’ … ‘Yeah, we’ll see when you get on the court,’ (Jimmy) Kimmel said.”

Los Angeles Lakers co-owner and executive Jeanie Buss is engaged to legendary coach Phil Jackson. Despite Phil’s repeatedly claiming to be done with the whole coaching thing, Jeanie isn’t really buying it. Per the LA Times: “It has to be the right situation,’ Buss said Thursday during a live radio segment on ESPN Los Angeles (710 AM). Buss, who is engaged to Jackson, said the former Lakers coach still has ‘that need where he’s got to coach something.’ Early last season, the Lakers fired Mike Brown but hired Coach Mike D’Antoni after interviewing Jackson for the position. According to Buss, Jackson believes the current roster is well-suited for D’Antoni. ‘Phil has said the team now is really going to do well under D’Antoni’s system,’ said Buss. ‘Phil felt he was better for Dwight Howard.’ Howard left for the Houston Rockets as a free agent this summer. ‘I don’t know how things are going to turn out,’ Buss said of Jackson. ‘I just don’t think he’s done contributing yet. I think he’s got a lot to give.'”

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni remains in shock over center Dwight Howard’s free agent decision to play for the Houston Rockets. D’Antoni, who has said that Howard refused to accept his role with the Lakers, can’t understand why Dwight left. Per ESPN: “It’s hard for me to sit here and criticize or even to understand why he left a place like L.A.,’ D’Antoni said. ‘That’s kind of mind-boggling a little bit, but that’s in his DNA and what he wants to do.’ […] ‘Everybody has got to make that decision,’ D’Antoni said. ‘You can debate it all you want. Only Dwight knows. Obviously he didn’t think he would be as happy here as he will be in Houston. That might be the case and he had to make that decision. There will be a lot of speculation, we tried it, it didn’t work out and we go forward. So be it. You hate it. Dwight’s one of the better centers in the league and it would have been a long-term thing, but I looked at it like, ‘OK, you don’t have Dwight but you got Pau [Gasol].’ So, we’ll see. In the short run, we’ll see what happens. In the long run, obviously 10 years from now Dwight might still be playing and maybe Pau is retired, but everybody has got to do [what’s best for them].’ […] Just how good the Lakers can be will likely hinge on the health of Kobe Bryant, who is still recovering from Achilles surgery he underwent in April. ‘I wouldn’t put anything past him but nobody knows. We’ll just have to wait and see in a month or two. Having said that, Kobe is a competitor and once he is back on the floor — Father Time does march on and things happen — I don’t know if you can say he’s going to average 25 [points], he’s going to average 30, he’s going to average 18, nobody knows, but one thing I do know he’ll give it his all and it will be interesting to see. It will be a heck of a battle, that’s for sure.’ There could also be a bit of a side battle between D’Antoni and Bryant to limit the amount of minutes the 18-year veteran guard will play. Bryant averaged 45.7 minutes in the seven games leading up to his Achilles tear. ‘He’s very determined in what he does and we’ll work together on it, hopefully,’ D’Antoni said. ‘We’ll see. But that will all be determined when we see how he feels and where he is and where he is with the team and all that. We’ll work through those issues and try to do the best that we can for him.'”

As expected, the Los Angeles Lakers officially announced the hiring of assistant coach Kurt Rambis (along with Johnny Davis.) Rambis says he has longtime friend Phil Jackson’s blessing, but maintains his loyalty to Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni. Per ESPN: “Rambis, an ESPN analyst, rejoins the team after serving as an assistant coach on and off between 1999 and 2009; he was the lead assistant from 2001-04 and 2005-09. He has eight championship rings as a player, coach and front-office executive. ‘Kurt is a great basketball mind, extremely good at working with big men and his experience as a head coach in this league is going to prove very helpful to our staff,’ Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said in a statement. Davis brings more than 20 years of NBA coaching experience to the Lakers, including stints as coach for the Orlando Magic (2003-05) and Philadelphia 76ers (1996-97). ‘Johnny is a two-time NBA head coach with years of experience playing as well as coaching in this league,’ D’Antoni said. ‘The vast array of NBA knowledge he brings to the table will be invaluable to us.’ […] ‘Mike and I have known each other for a long period of time,’ Rambis told said. ‘We were coaches in a basketball camp many years ago in Phoenix. The NBA used to have a camp there for draftees and potential draftees that we worked out, so we’ve known each other for a long time. It was a comfortable environment for Mike to just come up and ask if I was interested in getting back into coaching and if I was interested in getting back involved with the Lakers.’ Rambis said former Lakers coach Phil Jackson was in favor of the move. ‘We’re still friends,’ Rambis said of Jackson. ‘We still talk basketball. He’s back in Montana. He’s got a lot of family and friends back there now, so he’s dealing with an awful lot of people at his homes there. So, he’s focusing on them. But, he thinks this is a great opportunity for me and he’s excited about it.’ However, Rambis made it clear that his loyalty is to D’Antoni even though he will maintain a relationship with Jackson.”

To no one’s great shock, Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak insists that despite Dwight Howard’s departure and the monster free agent class next summer (and 2015), the team will do its best to be as competitive as possible in 2013-’14.

How disappointed was he to lose Howard in free agency to the “little town” of Houston, as Shaquille O’Neal derisively called it? “It wasn’t a surprise. I had a feeling that Houston was a frontrunner, and whenever a player is an unrestricted free agent, anything can happen,” Kupchak said. “Clearly, we wanted to keep him here in Los Angeles, and I felt we did everything we could do within reason to show we did want to keep him here. Until the end, I kept up hope. I think we were as persistent as we could be within reason. I wasn’t shocked but I was disappointed.”

With Kobe Bryant coming back at an unknown date from a torn Achilles’ tendon, is it time to punt away next season and play for a high draft pick in 2014? “You know that’s not our plan. Our plan was to bring back Dwight Howard and that would have sky-rocketed our payroll,” Kupchak said. “That’s never a plan here with our fan base, to throw in the towel before the season begins. We always try to win, and that’s what we’re going to do this year.”

Unlike Jim Buss, Kupchak won’t make any predictions about Kobe Bryant’s return to the court, though the GM says he’s optimistic:

“Obviously, we’re all hopeful and we all know Kobe. When you guess on Kobe, he always tries to prove you wrong,” Kupchak said. “The reality is he’s doing what he should be doing. He’s making progress probably weekly. Does that mean five months is possible or it’s really going to be eight or nine or 10? We just don’t know. When he gets back in September, we’ll take another look at him, but he hasn’t been on a basketball court. It’s really premature to try to predict other than try to be optimistic that he’ll be ready for opening night or the 15th of November or the 1st of December or the 15th of December.”

Despite having added some athleticism on the cheap this summer, and a potentially happier locker room next season, the Lakers have plenty of challenges ahead. It remains to be seen just how healthy and effective Steve Nash and Pau Gasol will be, and the team’s defense remains a major concern.

The organization may not be going into tank-mode, but Lakers fans would be wise to keep an eye on the future beyond next season.

It’s no secret that Dwight Howard wasn’t a big fan of Mike D’Antoni’s coaching style. Hell, he flat-out asked the Los Angeles Lakers to hire Phil Jackson. Once he bolted, Howard also talked about how excited he was to play for and learn post moves from Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale. D’Antoni views things differently, as one might expect, and says Dwight simply refused to accept his role on the Lakers during his one disastrous season in Hollywood. Per the LA Daily News: “It was a tough situation and it was just really hard for him to put his mark on the team.’ In other words, it was nothing like D’Antoni envisioned when he accepted the Lakers offer. ‘It’s such a great job that you only look at the positives,’ D’Antoni said. So when he hobbled to Los Angeles from New York shortly after undergoing knee surgery eight months ago he thought he was taking over a championship-caliber team that featured Kobe Bryant, the greatest player of his generation, and the endless possibilities of Nash and Howard on the pick and roll. ‘Steve Nash and Dwight Howard on the pick and roll, and that’s what I do?’ D’Antoni remembers, wistfully. ‘I just thought, ‘Boy, that’s gonna be a staple.’ Instead he ran smack into a hornet’s nest. Howard never was completely healthy and refused to buy into his role. He fancied himself as a dominating low-post force the offense should run through. ‘There was just a lot of conflict, emotionally,’ D’Antoni said. ‘People were not settled in their roles. But it’s funny because a lot of times players will say ‘I don’t know my role.’ It’s not that you don’t know it, you just don’t accept it.’ Howard never accepted his, although appeasing him as a prominent low-post option also wasn’t practical because he simply wasn’t healthy enough to carry that load. ‘The only thing that cracks me up is (the question) ‘Why didn’t you go through him more?’ D’Antoni said. ‘Well, he was hurt. Why would we go through him if he’s hurt? You have to (factor) that in. Why would we do that with Kobe and Nash and (Pau) Gasol on the floor? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.’ […] In fact, D’Antoni noticed a bit of irony in Howard choosing Houston, considering the Rockets run an offense every bit as wide open as the one D’Antoni prefers and the one Howard resisted conforming to last year. ‘The thing that cracks me up is Houston, they do the exact same thing,’ D’Antoni said, laughing. ‘And so (Howard) is gonna go to Houston? OK, so did they talk about change there? Don’t tell me that it’s that different.’ D’Antoni wishes Howard well, but does think he needs to accept what makes him a special player rather than envision himself as something he isn’t yet and may never be. ‘He’s a force and he can be really, really good and dominate the league,’ D’Antoni said. ‘But it’s in an area that he’s not loving right now. He wants to dominate a different way, in the low post and all that. But he needs to get better there, and he will. But his greatness is in defense and being a physical force. I think he’d be better served if he embraces that. But he’s good.'”

Phil Jackson’s protege, Kurt Rambis, is on the verge of re-joining the Los Angeles Lakers. Rambis will reportedly be added to head coach Mike D’Antoni’s staff for next season. Per ESPN and the LA Times: “Rambis, an ESPN analyst, has been an assistant coach with the Lakers on and off between 1999 and 2009; he was the lead assistant from 2001-04 and 2005-09. He has eight championship rings as a player, coach and front office executive. In 2009, he left to become coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but was fired after just two seasons with the rebuilding club. His return to the Lakers is seen as a stabilizing force because of his experience and institutional knowledge of the franchise. Rambis has been seen in Las Vegas, spending time watching summer league games alongside Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni and his brother, Dan. The Lakers are also expected to hire former Orlando Magic coach Johnny Davis, the source said. […] The Lakers are ‘90% certain’ they will add Kurt Rambis as an assistant coach on Mike D’Antoni’s staff, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, though some minor details remain to make the transaction official. Rambis was an assistant coach with the Lakers from 2005-09 before becoming the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves for two years. Interestingly enough, the Lakers also considered hiring Luke Walton as a player-development coach but the former Lakers forward wanted to pursue his playing career at least one more season. The position was eventually filled by Mark Madsen, another former Lakers player.”

The Hollywood lights may have been a tad too hot and bright for Dwight Howard, but expectations won’t necessarily be diminished now that he’s in Houston. Rockets head coach Kevin McHale — whom Dwight is very excited to work and learn from — expects nothing short of pure dominance from the NBA’s premier center. Per the Orlando Sentinel and LA Times: “You’re always evolving and changing, and I think Dwight’s in the process of evolving and changing,’ McHale told reporters Sunday. ‘He says he’s way healthier now than he has been. His back feels better. I just anticipate him coming in and doing what he did for years: being the best, most dominant center in the league.’McHale said he ‘had a pretty good feeling’ that Howard would choose the Rockets over a list of suitors that consisted of the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks. […] Howard, 27, picked the Rockets in part to play for Coach Kevin McHale and team consultant Hakeem Olajuwon, two Hall of Fame players known for their moves down low. ‘[Houston] was the best fit for me basketball-wise,’ Howard said. ‘And no offense to [Lakers Coach] Mike D’Antoni, but we’re talking about Kevin McHale, who had a million moves in the post.’ Howard declined a five-year, $118-million contract offer from the Lakers to accept a four-year, $88-million deal with the Rockets, his third team in an 11-month period. ‘Walt Disney said, ‘Big risks, big rewards,’ Howard said. ‘He put everything he had into ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ and the sky was the limit. Now there’s Disneyland and Disney World. It’s a big sacrifice leaving $30 million. Really, really a big sacrifice. But I want to win a championship and I want to get back to being the person who I am and have some fun and enjoy playing basketball. And I think that’s what I’ll find in Houston.’ Texas has more favorable taxes on income than California, bridging the gap somewhat between the contracts offered by the Lakers and Rockets. Howard declined to discuss whether he was dismayed by the Lakers’ aging roster or by any lingering uncertainty in their front office after the death of longtime owner Jerry Buss in February. ‘I’m not going to sit here and throw rocks and jabs at the Lakers,’ he said. ‘It didn’t end the way we wanted but I was able to develop a much thicker skin. I’m looking forward now to being the veteran in Houston.'”

Having spurned the Los Angeles Lakers and now prepared to sign with the Houston Rockets, Dwight Howard opened up to the press about his decision. Howard claims that Kobe Bryant had nothing to do with his choice to leave — despite KB’s very large role in the Lakers’ recruitment process of the NBA’s most coveted free agent, and his icy reaction to the departure — but did reveal that he asked the team to hire Phil Jackson (who tried and failed to lure him back to Hollywood.) Per Hoopsworld: “Why did you select the Rockets over the other four teams you met with? Dwight Howard: ‘I felt like Houston was the best fit for me. I felt that James and I would really have an opportunity to grow together. I felt like having a coach like Kevin McHale and having Hakeem Olajuwon, who’s in Houston, can really help me grow as a player – help me as a post player and help my overall game. It was very appealing. I felt like this was a great opportunity for me to start fresh. I’m just looking forward to this opportunity.’ […] Was it tough walking away from a franchise like the Lakers? They really haven’t lost a marquee free agent before. DH: ‘Very tough. Very, very, very tough. Very, very tough. People wouldn’t understand. Walking away from them and walking away from $30 million. That shows you right there that I want to win. I want to win. Nothing else matters other than winning. I don’t think anybody would’ve ever walked away from $30 million, but I want to win. But yeah, just walking away was tough. I was walking away from six million fans. I was walking away from a storied franchise. All of that makes it tough and it makes it a really, really big risk. I learned a lot from the situation in Orlando though, when I was afraid to walk away because I didn’t want to hurt people. I was afraid to leave because everything seemed like it was great. But now, I’m doing what’s best for Dwight. People are going to be mad and upset either way, so I’d rather be happy. I want to be happy playing basketball rather than upset doing what everyone wants me to do.’ What did you think of Kobe Bryant’s comments that he could teach you how to be a winner? DH: ‘He didn’t say anything of that sort. People twisted a lot of stuff that he said. But in my personal opinion, I’m a winner. I’m a winner because I’ve been playing for nine years when the average career for an NBA player is three years. I’m a winner because I made it to the NBA from a small school in Atlanta, GA, with 16 people in a class. I’m a winner because I’m succeeding in life. I’ve had problems and I’m not better than the next man, but I’m going to push myself to be a winner when it comes to winning a championship. But he didn’t say anything like that and a lot of people twisted what he did say.’ If Phil Jackson had been more involved with the Lakers or coaching the team, would that have affected your decision? DH: ‘Well, I asked to have him as my coach earlier in the year. (pause) The best decision for me was to do what’s best for Dwight. I think this is the best thing for me. This wasn’t a decision about anybody else. I didn’t have anybody pushing me to do anything. This is what Dwight wanted.'”

The Los Angeles Lakers are putting the full-court press on free agent center Dwight Howard – they’ve put up billboards letting the whole world know how much they want the big fella back, and teammates are saying all of the right and flowery things. But all of that may not be enough to convince Howard to return to Hollywood, according to ESPN: “There is very little chance of Dwight Howard re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer, according to sources close to the situation. Howard is willing to forgo the extra $30 million the Lakers can pay him to play for a coach and in a system he feels will better utilize his skill set, one source said. The Lakers can offer Howard a five-year, $118 million contract while other teams can pay him only $88 million over four years. Howard plans to meet with Dallas, Houston and Atlanta before meeting with the Lakers once teams are allowed to contact free agents beginning July 1, a source said. It appears that the teams will visit Howard in Los Angeles. […] Howard’s major problem with the Lakers is the system coach Mike D’Antoni employs. Beyond that, he did not enjoy playing with Kobe Bryant, though he could manage to do so in a different system, a source said. Howard also does not want to be second fiddle to Bryant for several more seasons. While many believe Houston is the Lakers’ stiffest competition, sources say Howard finds Dallas just as appealing, if not more. Assuming the Mavericks are able to clear enough cap space to offer him a maximum-salaried contract, Howard is strongly considering joining Dallas. The Mavericks are trying to shed Shawn Marion’s $9 million expiring contract to create the room to sign Howard, according to sources.”

The Zen Master has made it clear on numerous occassions that he’s done with coaching. Still, Phil Jackson continues to be an influential voice around the NBA, and he’s even consulting with his old team. Well, sort of. Jackson has been in touch with the Los Angeles Lakers’ front-office in an unofficial capacity, though that could potentially change going forward. Per the LA Daily News: “My message to Lakers fans is Phil is a part of the organization because of me,’ said Jeanie Buss, who’s the Lakers’ executive vice president of business operations and serves as the team’s governor. ‘He’s part of my life and part of my family. He’s always in Laker world, no matter if he has an official position or not.’ Would Buss want Jackson to have an official position with the team? ‘I think we’re in good hands with our front office,’ said Buss, referring to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and her brother, Jim, the team’s vice president of basketball operations. ‘Jim and Mitch know Phil is a phone call away. He’s always available. He would always do anything to help, support or listen. It’s like we’re all family.’ […] Kupchak confirmed Jackson ‘s revelation that they talked ‘in the past couple of weeks’ about unspecified issues concerning the Lakers. ‘I’m not sure why somebody like Phil isn’t working for an NBA club right now,’ Kupchak said. ‘He has so much to offer to any franchise. Even though he doesn’t have an official role with us, he’s a consultant of sorts.’ […] ‘It’s not something I expect them to rely on me for information. But I’m there to offer it,’ Jackson said. ‘They asked if I can be of assistance. I said yeah, I’ll help in whatever area you need to have help.’ Jackson declined to specify those issues, but there’s one thing clear. Despite the insistent ‘We Want Phil’ chants permeating Staples Center, the Lakers won’t bring back Jackson to coach. Kupchak has already publicly maintained Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni will return next season. The Lakers’ front office also believes a full training camp and a healthier roster will ensure D’Antoni fares better than a first-round exit to the San Antonio Spurs. […] But how much confidence does Jackson have that he will have a larger role with the Lakers? ‘Jimmy obviously has a long term contract,’ said Jackson, who added they have a ‘casual relationship.’ ‘I don’t see any need to have a future role right now. There may be at some point, but at this point I don’t see it happening.'”

Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs tortured the Los Angeles Lakers during a humiliating, four-game sweep. It was so bad that Dwight Howard can’t bear to watch the NBA Playoffs anymore. The LA Times does its best to get Howard to give clues about the upcoming free agent process, but no dice: “We all met at UCLA, Howard was as friendly as always and relaxed after fishing trips to Lake Tahoe and Aspen. He posted Twitter pictures of the fish that had jumped in his boat or the ones he claimed he had caught. But they were the wrong kind of trophies for some Lakers fans. ‘You just can’t please people,’ Howard said. ‘I catch fish and it’s a problem. People were upset I was out having fun; they thought I should be sitting in a room all upset because we lost. I am upset, but I’m not going to stop living life. I couldn’t watch the playoffs I was so ticked. Everywhere I went I saw a Tim Duncan jersey, and you know how much I hated that.’ […] He declined help with his shooting technique, saying he will not change the way he shoots free throws this off-season. He’ll just shoot more of them. ‘I have only one problem and it’s between my ears,’ he said, while admitting he visited a Lakers’ psychiatrist. ‘I just think too much.’ […] ‘It’s free agency and I have the opportunity to choose where I’m going to play,’ he said. ‘God opens doors, and I’m relying on my faith to direct me. ‘I don’t think it’s fair I get criticized for waiting on such an opportunity.’ But what does he want in a team? ‘I want to win; I’ve done everything else,’ he said. ‘I just want to win.’ Can the Lakers win? ‘Any team I am on can win,’ he said with a grin, ‘but nice try.’ So what do you think of D’Antoni? ‘I love him,’ he said. ‘He’s a great person.’ Is he a great coach? ‘He’s a great person and I’m glad we had the opportunity to be together,’ said Howard, which some will undoubtedly interpret as goodbye.”